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MARTHA WASHINGTON 



George Washington 
the Christian 



By «y^lv-.^^3Co-vxi2«^ 
WILLIAM J, JOHNSON 




THE ABINGDON PRESS 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI 



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Copyright. 1919, by 
WILLIAM J. JOHNSON 



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To THE Memory of 

Brison Blair and Lydia Overton Johnson 

My Father and Mother 

who taught their children 

from earliest childhood to 

Revere the Name and 

Emulate the Character 

OF 

GEORGE WASHINGTON 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAOB 

The Reason 13 

I. Religious Foundation 16 

II. Washington's Prayers 23 

III. A Christian Soldier 36 

IV. The Active Churchman 48 

V. The Commander-in-Chief Trusts in 

God 68 

VI. Washington Attends Communion 

Service 85 

VII. Prayer at Valley Forge 102 

VIII. Washington Not Profane 115 

IX. General Washington a Man of 

Prayer 122 

X. Washington and Divine Providence 133 

XI. Church Attendance at Home 146 

XII. A Christian President 159 

XIII. How Washington Spent Sunday .... 175 

XIV. Washington a Communicant 187 

XV. Did Washington Swear ? 203 

XVI. Religion Indispensable to Political 

Prosperity 210 

XVII. Even Down to Old Age 226 

XVIII. Washington's Will 237 

XIX. His Religious Habits 242 

XX. Estimate of His Character 250 

XXI. The Verdict 262 

Sources of Information 270 

Where Found 276 

Names of the Deity 288 

Index 292 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

George Washington ) r. ^ • • ^^ 

i Frontispieces 

Martha Washington ) 

FACING PAGE 

PoHiCK Church, Virginia 54 ^^ 

The First Prayer in Congress 64 ^ 

Washington Receiving Communion 88 

Washington's Prayer at Valley Forge 102- 

Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia 146 

Washington and His Mother 156 

Saint Paul's Chapel, New York 178 

Christ Church, Philadelphia 192 

Portrait of Washington in 1794 214 

Room in which Washington Died 234 



In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall 
direct thy paths. — Proverbs 3. 6. 



THE REASON 

My earliest recollection of the picture of the 
face of any man is that of the Father of his 
Country. The first and for many years the 
only pictures that hung on the wall of the old- 
fashioned sitting room in our southern Indiana 
home were those of George and Martha Washing- 
ton. The story of the hatchet and cherry tree 
was one of the constructive influences in my life. 
As children we never tired of hearing stories of 
this great man. 

Later, in school, as we studied the history of 
our country, and his part in it, he became to us 
a sort of demigod. Could a real man do what 
Washington did.? He seemed to be the special 
care of Providence. 

Afterward came the period of questioning. 
Wliat made Washington great.? What gave him 
his mighty power.? What produced that in- 
comparable character.? Research disclosed that 
the supreme factor in his life was an unwavering 
faith in God and a strict adherence to his teach- 
ings. 

Religion is the chief asset in any character. 
We cannot rightly estimate the character of any 
person until we know the religious belief of that 

13 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

person. Christianity is the basis of all true 
character and the foundation of all true great- 
ness. 

We have not tried to analyze the religious side 
of Washington's character, but to study its de- 
velopment and its expression. The chronological 
order has been followed, from birth to death. 
Our purpose is to place before the reader the 
evidence, and let him form his own conclusion. 
This evidence consists of what Washington him- 
self said in his letters, diary, "orders" to the 
army, addresses and state papers, and authentic 
incidents in his life, gathered from many sources. 
Some things have been introduced which do not 
bear directly upon his religious belief or charac- 
ter, but they are interesting and suggestive 
sidelights. 

Not finding any book which gave a complete 
and comprehensive study of the religious side of 
Washington's life, it seemed worth while to pre- 
pare such a work, that the young people of 
America may know the real secret of Washing- 
ton's character and achievements. This is "The 
Reason" for adding one more book to the long 
list about Washington. 

It is one hundred eighty-seven years since 
Washington was born in a humble Virginia pio- 
neer's cabin, and one hundred twenty years 
since his body was laid in the tomb at Mount 
14 



THE REASON 

Vernon. All that can ever be known of him was 
written long ago. The only thing that can be 
done now is to gather the facts in his life into 
such an arrangement as will most clearly exhibit 
to the student the true George Washington. 
This we have endeavored to do, so far as it 
relates to that matchless character which made 
possible such marvelous achievement. 

The index numbers throughout the book will 
direct the reader to the sources of information 
under the heading "Where Found/' in the back 
part of the book. At the bottom of the page are 
given the date and the age of Washington at the 
time the incidents referred to on that page 
occurred. All except the shorter quotations 
from Washington are in smaller type. 

"The history of George Washington is not 
always a recital of brilliant exploits in the field — 
the cunning strategy of the commander; nor 
is it always a narrative of startling movements 
in the cabinet — the secret diplomacy of the 
Statesman; but it is always the consistent record 
of a man true to himself, true to his country, 
true to his God." 

Merriam Park, 

Saint Paul, Minnesota, 
February 23, 1919. 



15 




CHAPTER I 
RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION 

Christian Ancestry 

George Washington descended from a long 
line of excellent churchmen. His great-great- 
grandfather was the Rev. Lawrence Washington, 
a clergyman in the Church of England. His 
great-grandfather, John Washington, "a man 
of military talent and high in the government," 
came to America in 1657, settling in Virginia. 
He founded a parish which was named for him — 
"The parish of Washington." "He was also a 
sincerely pious man." In his will, he left a gift 
to the church, of "a tablet with the Ten Com- 
mandments," and recorded his faith in this 
manner: "being heartily sorry from the bot- 
tome of my hart for my sins past, most hum- 
bly desireing forgiveness of the same from 
the Almighty god (my saviour) and redeimer, 
in whom and by the meritts of Jesus Christ, 
I trust and believe assuredly to be saved, and 
to have full remission and forgiveness of all my 
sins." 

His grandfather, also named Lawrence Wash- 
ington, similarly expresses his faith in his will. 
16 



RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION 

His father, Augustine Washington, was active 
in parish affairs, and became a vestryman in 
Truro Parish, Virginia, November 18, 1735, 
when his son George was three years old. 

On the mother's side the Hne of churchmen is 
equally strong. Grandfather Ball was a vestry- 
man, and Great-Grandfather Warner left his 
slender but excellent record by presenting to the 
parish church a set of silver for the holy com- 
munion. "The family of Balls was very active 
in promoting good things." Washington's uncle 
Joseph, in 1729, took the lead in a movement to 
educate young men for the ministry of the 
church. Mary Ball Washington (George's 
mother), says Henry Cabot Lodge, "was an im- 
perious woman, of strong will, ruling her king- 
dom alone. Above all she was very dignified, 
very silent, and very sober-minded. That she 
was affectionate and loving cannot be doubted, 
for she retained to the last a profound hold upon 
the reverential devotion of her son." 

If Washington's military character was devel- 
oped out of materials which came to him by 
inheritance from both sides of his family, so too 
was his religious character. That love of the 
church which we have seen as a distinguishing 
mark in his family became a strong inheritance 
which his own will and intelligence did not set 
aside.^ 

17 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Church Membership 
The parents of Washington were members of 
the Church of England, which was almost the 
only denomination of Christians then known in 
Virginia.^ 

His Baptism 

The birth record of Washington is found in 
an old family Bible of quarto form, dilapidated 
by use and age, and covered with Virginia 
striped cloth, which record is in the handwriting 
of the patriot's father, in these words: 

George William, son to Augustine Washington, 
and Mary, his wife, was born the eleventh day of 
February, 1731-2, about ten in the morning, and was 
baptized the 3rd April following, Mr. Bromley 
Whiting, and Captain Christopher Brooks god- 
fathers, and Mrs. Mildred Gregory godmother.^ 

According to the present style of reckoning, 
the birthday was February 22, and the baptismal 
day April 14. 

His Father 

There are many stories of Washington's boy- 
hood which show that his father took great 
pains to teach George to be unselfish, inspire 
him with a love of truth, and teach him to know 
and worship God. 

When George was eleven years old, his father 
died. Some months later he was sent to West- 
1732] 18 



RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION 

moreland to live with his half-brother, Augus- 
tine, who occupied the family seat in that 
county. What the religious advantages were, 
which awaited him in his new situation, we have 
not the means to ascertain. There is no doubt 
that he enjoyed the privilege of public worship 
at the parish church, known then and now as 
Pope's Creek Church. Here his attendance was 
probably habitual, as it was an age in which 
everybody in that region frequented the house 
of God whenever service was performed.^ 

Religious Teaching by His Mother 

In addition to instruction in the Bible and 
Prayer Book, which were her daily companions, 
it was Mrs. Washington's custom to read some 
helpful books to her children at home, and in this 
way they received much valuable instruction. 
Among the volumes which she used for this pur- 
pose was one entitled Contemplations: Moral 
and Divine, by Sir Matthew Hale^ — an old, 
well-worn copy, which still bears on its title-page 
the name of its owner, "Mary Washington." 
Those who are familiar with the character of 
Washington will be struck, on reading these 
"Contemplations," with the remarkable fact 
that the instructions contained in them are 
most admirably calculated to implant and foster 
such principles as he is known to have possessed. 

Age 11] 19 [1743 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

The volume was found in the Hbrary at Mount 
Vernon, after Washington's death, and it ap- 
pears to have been used by him through hfe.^ 
There are many pencil marks in it noting choice, 
passages. 

"From that volume the mother of Washington 
undoubtedly drew, as from a living well of sweet 
water, many of the maxims which she instilled 
into the mind of her first-born."^ 

"Let those who wish to know the moral foun- 
dation of his character consult its pages. "^ 

Washington's Rules 

In 1745, thirteen years old, Washington copied 
many things in a little book of thirty folio pages. 
One part was headed, "Rules of Civility and 
Decent Behavior in Company and Conversa- 
tion." There were one hundred and ten of these 
maxims. "Scarcely one rule is there that does 
not involve self-restraint, modesty, habitual 
consideration of others, and, to a large extent, 
Hving for others."^ The last three rules are as 
follows : 

108th. When you speak of God or his Attributes, 
let it be Seriously & [with words of] Reverence, Honor 
& Obey your Natural Parents altho they be poor 
109th. Let your Recreations be Manful not Sinful 
110th. Labor to keep alive in your Breast that 
little Spark of Celestial fire called Conscience. ^° 
1745] 20 f Age 13 



RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION 

Poem on "Christmas Day" 
When Washington was thirteen years of age 

he copied some verses on "Christmas Day," 

beginning, 

"Assist me, Muse divine, to sing the Morn, 
On Which the Saviour of Mankind was born."^^ 

Some think that he composed poems himself, 
but it is more Hkely that he copied them from an 
unknown source. It shows what manner of 
Christian training he had received at home. He 
had absorbed "the spirit of the Day and the facts 
of the faith, as well as the rule and model of 
Christian life." 

Godfather 

In 1747, at the age of fifteen years, young 
Washington was godfather to a child in baptism. 
In 1748, at sixteen, he was godfather to his 
niece, Frances Lewis. In 1751, at nineteen, to 
his nephew. Fielding Lewis, his sister's first 
child, and his mother was godmother. In 1760, 
at twenty-eight, he again became sponsor for 
another nephew, Charles Lewis. ^^ 

Goes to Mount Vernon 
In the summer of 1746, he finds his way to 
the home of his brother Lawrence, at Mount 
Vernon. From then until March, 1748, "George, 
it is believed, resided at Mount Vernon, and with 
his mother at her abode opposite to Fredericks- 
Age 14] 21 [1746 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

burg. In that town he went to school, and as 
Mrs. Washington was connected with the church 
there, her son no doubt shared, under her own 
eye, the benefits of divine worship, and such 
rehgious instruction as mothers in that day 
were eminently accustomed to give their chil- 
dren. It was the habit to teach the young the 
first principles of religion according to the formu- 
laries of the church, to inculcate the fear of God, 
and strict observance of the moral virtues, such 
as truth, justice, charity, humility, modesty, 
temperance, chastity, and industry. "^^ 

Trip to the West Indies 

In 1751 Lawrence Washington, on the advice 
of his physicians, decided to pass a winter in the 
West Indies, taking with him his favorite brother 
George as a companion. George kept a journal 
of this trip. They arrived on Saturday, No- 
vember 3. The second Sunday we find this 
entry in his diary, which shows his habit of 
church attendance: 

"Sunday, 11th — Dressed in order for Church 
but got to town too late. Dined at Major 
Clarke's with ye SeG. Went to Evening Serv- 
ice and return'd to our lodgings."^^ 

Before the next Sunday he was stricken with 
smallpox. A few days after his recovery he 
sailed for home. 
1751] 22 1^8® 1^ 



CHAPTER II 
WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

On April 21, 22, 23, 1891, there was sold at 
auction in Philadelphia a remarkable collection 
of Washington relics owned by Lawrence Wash- 
ington, Bushrod C. Washington, Thomas B. 
Washington, and J. R. C. Lewis. Among them 
was found a little manuscript book entitled 
Daily Sacrifice. 

"This gem is all in the handwriting of George 
Washington, when about twenty years old, and 
is, without exception, the most hallowed of all 
his writings. It is neatly written on twenty- 
four pages of a little book about the size of the 
ordinary pocket memorandum." ^^ 

"The occasional interlineations and emenda- 
tions indicate that it was prepared for his own 
use." 

Whether Washington composed the prayers 
himself or copied them from some source as yet 
unknown has not been determined; but they 
are a revelation of that striking character which 
has been the wonder of the world. Professor S. 
F. Upham, professor of practical theology in 
Drew Theological Seminary, wrote: "The *Daily 
Prayers' of George Washington abound in 
Age 201 2S tl'^^'* 



/ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

earnest thought, expressed in simple, beautiful, 
fervent and evangelical language. They reveal 
to us the real life of the great patriot, and attest 
his piety. None can read those petitions, which 
bore his desires to God, and often brought 
answers of peace, without having a grander con- 
ception of Washington's character." 

"The prayers are characterized by a deep con- 
sciousness of sin and by a need of forgiveness, 
and by a recognition of dependence upon the 
merits and mercies of our Lord. They contain 
fervent applications for family, friends, and rulers 
in church and state." The prayers are as follows 
(by special permission of Rev. Dr. W. Herbert 
Burk): 

(1) Sunday Morning 

Almighty God, and most merciful father, who 
didst command the children of Israel to oflFer a daily 
sacrifice to thee, that thereby they might glorify and 
praise thee for thy protection both night and day; 
receive, O Lord, my morning sacrifice which I now 
offer up to thee; I yield thee humble and hearty 
thanks that thou has preserved me from the dangers 
of the night past, and brought me to the light of this 
day, and the comforts thereof, a day which is con- 
secrated to thine own service and for thine own 
honor. Let my heart, therefore. Gracious God, be 
so affected with the glory and majesty of it, that I 
may not do mine own works, but wait on thee, and 
discharge those weighty duties thou requirest of me; 
1752] 24, [Age 20 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

and since thou art a God of pure eyes, and wilt be 
sanctified in all who draw near unto thee, who doest 
not regard the sacrifice of fools, nor hear sinners who 
tread in thy courts, pardon, I beseech thee, my sins, 
remove them from thy presence, as far as the east is 
from the west, and accept of me for the merits of thy 
son Jesus Christ, that when I come into thy temple, 
and compass thine altar, my prayers may come 
before thee as incense; and as thou wouldst hear me 
calling upon thee in my prayers, so give me grace to 
hear thee calling on me in thy word, that it may be 
wisdom, righteousness, reconciliation and peace to 
the saving of my soul in the day of the Lord Jesus. 
Grant that I may hear it with reverence, receive it 
with meekness, mingle it with faith, and that it may 
accomplish in me, Gracious God, the good work for 
which thou has sent it. Bless my family, kindred, 
friends and country, be our God & guide this day 
and for ever for his sake, who lay down in the Grave 
and arose again for us, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

(2) Sunday Evening 

O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful 
and loving father, I acknowledge and confess my 
guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the 
duties of this day. I have called on thee for pardon 
and forgiveness of sins, but so coldly and carelessly, 
that my prayers are become my sin and stand in 
need of pardon. I have heard thy holy word, but 
with such deadness of spirit that I have been an un- 
profitable and forgetful hearer, so that, O Lord, the' 
Age 20] 25 11752 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

I have done thy work, yet it hath been so negh- 
gently that I may rather expect a curse than a bless- 
ing from thee. But, O God, who art rich in mercy 
and plenteous in redemption, mark not, I beseech 
thee, what I have done amiss; remember that I am 
but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences & 
ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute 
obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices 
which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in 
and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the 
cross for me; for his sake, ease me of the burden of 
my sins, and give me grace that by the call of the 
Gospel I may rise from the slumber of sin into the 
newness of life. Let me live according to those holy 
rules which thou hast this day prescribed in thy holy 
word; make me to know what is acceptable in thy 
sight, and therein to delight, open the eyes of my 
understanding, and help me thoroughly to examine 
myself concerning my knowledge, faith and repen- 
tance, increase my faith, and direct me to the true 
object Jesus Christ the way, the truth and the life, 
bless, O Lord, all the people of this land, from the 
highest to the lowest, particularly those whom thou 
hast appointed to rule over us in church & state, 
continue thy goodness to me this night. These 
weak petitions I humbly implore thee to hear accept 
and ans. for the sake of thy Dear Son Jesus Christ 
our Lord, Amen. 

(3) Monday Morning 

O eternal and everlasting God, I presume to pre- 
1762] 26 l^ge 20 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

sent myself this morning before thy Divine majesty, 
beseeching thee to accept of my humble and hearty 
thanks, that it hath pleased thy great goodness to 
keep and preserve me the night past from all the 
dangers poor mortals are subject to, and has given me 
sweet and pleasant sleep, whereby I find my body 
refreshed and comforted for performing the duties 
of this day, in which I beseech thee to defend me 
from all perils of body and soul. Direct my thoughts, 
words and work, wash away my sins in the immacu- 
late blood of the lamb, and purge my heart by thy 
holy spirit, from the dross of my natural corruption, 
that I may with more freedom of mind and liberty 
of will serve thee, the ever lasting God, in righteous- 
ness and holiness this day, and all the days of my 
life. Increase my faith in the sweet promises of the 
gospel; give me repentance from dead works; pardon 
my wanderings, & direct my thoughts unto thyself, 
the God of my salvation; teach me how to live in thy 
fear, labor in thy service, and ever to run in the 
ways of thy commandments; make me always 
watchful over my heart, that neither the terrors of 
conscience, the loathing of holy duties, the love of 
sin, nor an unwillingness to depart this life, may cast 
me into a spiritual slumber, but daily frame me more 
& more into the likeness of thy son Jesus Christ, that 
living in thy fear, and dying in thy favor, I may 
in thy appointed time attain the resurrection of the 
just unto eternal life bless my family, friends & kin- 
dred unite us all in praising & glorifying thee in all 
our works begun, continued, and ended, when we 
Age 20] 27 [1752 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

shall come to make our last account before thee 
blessed saviour, who hath taught us thus to pray, 
our Father, &c. 

(4) Monday Evening 

Most Gracious Lord God, from whom proceedeth 
every good and perfect gift, I offer to thy divine 
majesty my unfeigned praise & thanksgiving for 
all thy mercies towards me. Thou mad'st me at 
first and hast ever since sustained the work of thy 
own hand; thou gav'st thy Son to die for me; and 
hast given me assurance of salvation, upon my 
repentance and sincerely endeavoring to conform 
my life to his holy precepts and example. Thou art 
pleased to lengthen out to me the time of repentance 
and to move me to it by thy spirit and by thy word, 
by thy mercies, and by thy judgments; out of a 
deepness of thy mercies, and my own unworthiness, 
I do appear before thee at this t'me; I have sinned and 
done very wickedly, be merciful to me, God, and 
pardon me for Jesus Christ sake; instruct me in the 
particulars of my duty, and suffer me not to be 
tempted above what thou givest me strength to bear. 
Take care, I pray thee of my affairs and more and 
more direct me in thy truth, defend me from my 
enemies, especially my spiritual ones. Suffer me not 
to be drawn from thee, by the blandishments of the 
world, carnal desires, the cunning of the devil, or 
deceitfulness of sin. work in me thy good will and 
pleasure, and discharge my mind from all things that 
are displeasing to thee, of all ill will and discontent, 
1752] ^8 [Age 20 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

wrath and bitterness, pride & vain conceit of myself, 
and render me charitable, pure, holy, patient and 
heavenly minded, be with me at the hour of death; 
dispose me for it, and deliver me from the slavish 
fear of it, and make me willing and fit to die when- 
ever thou shalt call me hence. Bless our rulers in 
church and state, bless O Lord the whole race of 
mankind, and let the world be filled with the knowl- 
edge of Thee and thy son Jesus Christ. Pity the 
sick, the poor, the weak, the needy, the widows and 
fatherless, and all that morn or are broken in heart, 
and be merciful to them according to their several 
necessities, bless my friends and grant me grace 
to forgive my enemies as heartily as I desire forgive- 
ness of Thee my heavenly Father. I beseech thee to 
defend me this night from all evil, and do more for 
me than I can think or ask, for Jesus Christ sake, in 
whose most holy name & words, I continue to pray. 
Our Father, &c. 

(5) Tuesday Morning 

O Lord our God, most mighty and merciful father, 
I thine unworthy creature and servant, do once more 
approach thy presence. Though not worthy to ap- 
pear before thee, because of my natural corruptions, 
and the many sins and transgressions which I have 
committed against thy divine majesty; yet I beseech 
thee, for the sake of him in whom thou art well 
pleased, the Lord Jesus Christ, to admit me to render 
thee deserved thanks and praises for thy manifold 
mercies extended toward me, for the quiet rest & 
Age 20] 29 U752 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

repose of the past night, for food, raiment, health, 
peace, Hberty, and the hopes of a better Hfe through 
the merits of thy dear son*s bitter passion, and 
O kind father continue thy mercy and favor to me 
this day, and ever hereafter; prosper all my lawful 
undertakings; let me have all my directions from thy 
holy spirit, and success from thy bountiful hand. 
Let the bright beams of thy light so shine into my 
heart, and enlighten my mind in understanding thy 
blessed word, that I may be enabled to perform thy 
will in all things, and effectually resist all tempta- 
tions of the world, the flesh and the devil, preserve 
and defend our rulers in church & state, bless the 
people of this land, be a father to the fatherless, a 
comforter to the comfortless, a deliverer to the cap- 
tives, and a physician to the sick, let thy blessings 
be upon our friends, kindred and families. Be our 
guide this day and forever through J. C. in whose 
blessed form of prayer I conclude my weak petitions 
— Our Father, &c. 

(6) Tuesday Evening 

Most gracious God and heavenly father, we can- 
not cease, but must cry unto thee for mercy, because 
my sins cry against me for justice. How shall I 
address myself unto thee, I must with the publican 
stand and admire at thy great goodness, tender 
mercy, and long suffering towards me, in that thou 
hast kept me the past day from being consumed and 
brought to nought. O Lord, what is man, or the 
son of man, that thou regardest him; the more days 
1752] 30 [Age 20 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

pass over my head, the more sins and iniquities I 
heap up against thee. If I should cast up the ac- 
count of my good deeds done this day, how few and 
small would they be; but if I should reckon my mis- 
carriages, surely they would be many and great. O, 
blessed Father, let thy son's blood wash me from all 
impurities, and cleanse me from the stains of sin that 
are upon me. Give me grace to lay hold upon his 
merits; that they may be my reconciliation and 
atonement unto thee, — That I may know my sins 
are forgiven by his death & passion, embrace me 
in the arms of thy mercy; vouchsafe to receive me 
unto the bosom of thy love, shadow me with thy 
wings, that I may safely rest under thy protection 
this night; and so into thy hands I commend myself, 
both soul and body, in the name of thy son, J. C, 
beseeching Thee, when this life shall end, I may 
take my everlasting rest with thee in thy heavenly 
kingdom, bless all in authority over us, be merciful 
to all those afflicted with thy cross or calamity, bless 
all my friends, forgive my enemies and accept my 
thanksgiving this evening for all the mercies and 
favors afforded me; hear and graciously answer these 
my requests, and whatever else thou see'st needful 
grant us, for the sake of Jesus Christ in whose 
blessed name and words I continue to pray. Our 
Father, &c. 

(7) A Prayer for Wednesday Morninu 

Almighty and eternal Lord God, the great creator 
of heaven & earth, and the God and Father of our 
Age 20] 31 [1752 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Lord Jesus Christ; look down from heaven, in pity 
and compassion upon me thy servant, who humbly 
prostrate myself before thee, sensible of thy mercy 
and my own misery; there is an infinite distance 
between thy glorious majesty and me, thy poor 
creature, the work of thy hand, between thy infinite 
power, and my weakness, thy wisdom, and my folly» 
thy eternal Being, and my mortal frame, but, O 
Lord, I have set myself at a greater distance from 
thee by my sin and wickedness, and humbly ac- 
knowledge the corruption of my nature and the 
many rebellions of my life. I have sinned against 
heaven and before thee, in thought, word & deed; I 
have contemned thy majesty and holy laws. I have 
likewise sinned by omitting what I ought to have 
done, and committing what I ought not. I have 
rebelled against light, despised thy mercies and judg- 
ments, and broken my vows and promises; I have 
neglected the means of Grace, and opportunities of 
becoming better; my iniquities are multiplied, and 
my sins are very great. I confess them, O Lord, 
with shame and sorrow, detestation and loathing, 
and desire to be vile in my own eyes, as I have 
rendered myself vile in thine. I humbly beseech 
thee to be merciful to me in the free pardon of my 
sins, for the sake of thy dear Son, my only saviour, 
J. C, who came not to call the righteous, but sinners 
to repentance; be pleased to renew my nature and 
write thy laws upon my heart, and help me to live, 
righteously, soberly and godly in this evil world; 
make me humble, meek, patient and contented, and 
1752] ao [Age 20 



.1 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

work in me the grace of thy holy spirit, prepare 
me for death and judgment, and let the thoughts 
thereof awaken me to a greater care and study to 
approve myself unto thee in well doing, bless our 
rulers in church & state. Help all in affliction or 
adversity — give them patience and a sanctified use 
of their affliction, and in thy good time deliverance 
from them; forgive my enemies, take me unto thy 
protection this day, keep me in perfect peace, which 
I ask in the name & for the sake of Jesus. Amen. 

(8) Wednesday Evening 

Holy and eternal Lord God who art the King of 
heaven, and the watchman of Israel, that never 
slumberest or sleepest, what shall we render unto 
thee for all thy benefits; because thou hast inclined 
thine ears unto me, therefore will I call on thee as 
long as I live, from the rising of the sun to the going 
down of the same let thy name be praised, among 
the infinite riches of thy mercy towards me, I desire 
to render thanks & praise for thy merciful preserva- 
tion of me this day, as well as all the days of my life; 
and for the many other blessings & mercies spiritual 
& temporal which thou hast bestowed on me, con- 
trary to my deserving. All these thy mercies call 
on me to be thankful and my infirmities & wants 
call for a continuance of thy tender mercies; cleanse 
my soul, O Lord, I beseech thee, from whatever is 
offensive to thee, and hurtful to me, and give me 
what is convenient for me. watch over me this 
night, and give me comfortable and sweet sleep to 
Age 20] 33 [17.52 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

fit me for the service of the day following. Let my 
soul watch for the coming of the Lord Jesus; let my 
bed put me in mind of my grave, and my rising 
from there of my last resurrection; O heavenly 
Father, so frame this heart of mine, that I may ever 
delight to live according to thy will and command, 
in holiness and righteousness before thee all the days 
of my life. Let me remember, O Lord, the time will 
come when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
shall arise and stand before the judgment seat, and 
give an account of whatever they have done in the 
body, and let me so prepare my soul, that I may do 
it with joy and not with grief, bless the rulers and 
people of this and forget not those who are under any 
affliction or oppression. Let thy favor be extended 
to all my relations friends and all others who I 
ought to remember in my prayer and hear me I 
beseech thee for the sake of my dear redeemer in 
whose most holy words, I farther pray, Our Father, 
&c. 

(9) Thursday Morning 

Most gracious Lord God, whose dwelling is in the 
highest heavens, and yet beholdest the lowly and 
humble upon earth, I blush and am ashamed to lift 
up my eyes to thy dwelling place, because I have 
sinned against thee; look down, I beseech thee upon 
me thy unworthy servant who prostrate myself at 
the footstool of thy mercy, confessing my own guilti- 
ness, and begging pardon for my sins; what couldst 
thou have done Lord more for me, or what could I 
1752J 34j [Age 20 



WASHINGTON'S PRAYERS 

have done more against thee? Thou didst send 
me thy Son to take our nature upon 

*'Note: The manuscript ended at this place, the 
close of a page. Whether the other pages were lost 
or the prayers were never completed, has not been 
determined. "^^ 



55 



CHAPTER III 

A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

His Mother Advises Secret Prayer 
In November, 1753, then twenty-one years of 
age, Washington was commissioned by Governor 
Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to be the bearer of dis- 
patches to the French commander St. Pierre. 
He called to see his mother and explained the 
nature of his mission. "With her farewell kiss 
she bade him 'remember that God only is our 
sure trust. To Him I commend you.' "^^ 

As he left the paternal roof, his mother's part- 
ing charge was, "My son, neglect not the duty of 
secret prayer." Never did a mother give better 
advice to her son, and never did a son more con- 
scientiously follow it.^^ 

"His uniform practice from youth to hoary 
age, furnished, it would seem, a consistent exem- 
plification of this duty in its double aspect of 
public and private prayer." 

Prayers at Fort Necessity 
The first decisive indication of his principles 
on this subject, with which we are acquainted, 
appeared during the encampment at the Great 

1753] 3g [Age 21 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

Meadows, in the year 1754. While occupying 
Fort Necessity it was his practice to have the 
troops assembled for public worship. This we 
learn from the following note, by the publisher 
of his writings: "While Washington was en- 
camped at the Great Meadows, Mr. Fairfax 
wrote to him: 'I will not doubt your having 
public prayers in the camp, especially when the 
Indian families are your guests, that they, 
seeing your plain manner of worship, may have 
their curiosity excited to be informed why we 
do not use the ceremonies of the French, which 
being well explained to their understandings, 
will more and more dispose them to receive our 
baptism, and unite in strict bonds of cordial 
friendship.' It may be added that it was Wash- 
ington's custom to have prayers in the camp 
while he was at Fort Necessity. "^^ 

Here we are informed not only of the pious 
custom of the youthful cammander, at the time 
and place mentioned, but are enabled to gather 
from the communication of Mr. Fairfax much 
that was highly favorable to the character of his 
young friend. Mr. Fairfax says, 'T will not 
doubt your having public prayers in the camp." 
Intimate as this gentleman was with Washing- 
ton, he would scarcely have so addressed him 
had he not felt encouraged to do so by his known 
sentiments of piety, if not his own habits. Mr. 

Age 21] 37 11753 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Fairfax was the father-in-law of Lawrence Wash- 
ington, the brother of George, and had possessed 
every opportunity of learning the character and 
conduct of the latter. Assured of his pious and 
serious deportment, he did not feel any hesi- 
tation in suggesting to him the expediency of the 
duty in question. ^^^ 

"It certainly was not one of the least striking 
pictures presented in this wild campaign — the 
youthful commander, presiding with calm serious- 
ness over a motley assemblage of half -equipped 
soldiery, leathern-clad hunters and woodsmen, 
and painted savages with their wives and chil- 
dren, and uniting them all in solemn devotion by 
his own example and demeanor."^^ 

Acknowledges an Act of Providence 

In a letter to Governor Dinwiddie, dated 
Great Meadows, June 10, 1754, when twenty- 
two years of age, we have the following striking 
acknowledgment of a particular providential 
interposition in supplying with provisions the 
troops recently placed under his command : 

We have been six days without flour, and there is 
none upon the road for our relief that we know of, 
though I have by repeated expresses given him 
timely notice. We have not provisions of any 
sort enough in camp to serve us two days. Once 
before we should have been four days without pro- 
1754] 38 l^g^ *^ 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

visions, if Providence had not sent a trader from the 
Ohio to our rehef, for whose flour I was obHged to 
give twenty-one shiUings and eight-pence per pound.^^ 

His Custom to Attend Church 

That it was customary with him to frequent 
the house of God when in his power, appears 
from the record made by him of an occurrence 
among his soldiers, while encamped in Alexan- 
dria, Virginia, in the summer of 1754, having 
himself returned but lately on a recruiting expe- 
dition from the Great Meadows: "Yesterday, 
while we were at church, twenty-five of them col- 
lected, and were going off in the face of their 
officers, but were stopped and imprisoned be- 
fore the plot came to its height. "^^ 

His Trust in God 

In April, 1755, the newly arrived General 
Braddock offered him an important command. 
His mother opposed his going to the war. In 
the final discussion, the son said to his mother: 
"The God to whom you commended me, madam, 
when I set out upon a more perilous errand, 
defended me from all harm, and I trust he will 
do so now. Do not you.'^"^'* 

Conducts Braddock's Funeral 
General Braddock being mortally wounded in 

Age 23J 39 [1755 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the battle of the Monongahela, July 9, 1755, 
died on Sunday night, July 13. He was buried 
in his cloak the same night in the road, to elude 
the search of the Indians. The chaplain having 
been wounded, Washington, on the testimony of 
an old soldier, read the funeral service over his 
remains, by the light of a torch. Faithful to his 
commander while he lived, he would not suffer 
him to want the customary rites of religion when 
dead. Though the probable pursuit of 'savages 
threatened, yet did his humanity and sense of 
decency prevail, to gain for the fallen soldier 
the honor of Christian burial. ^^ 

Letter to His Brother 

He wrote to his brother, John A. Washington, 
July 18, 1755, following Braddock's defeat, in 
which he says: 

As I have heard, since my arrival at this place 
[Fort Cumberland], a circumstantial account of my 
death and dying speech, I take this early oppor- 
tunity of contradicting the first, and of assuring you, 
that I have not as yet composed the latter. But, 
by the all-powerful dispensations of Providence, I 
have been protected beyond all human probability 
or expectation; for I had four bullets through my 
coat, and two horses shot under me, yet escaped 
unhurt, although death was leveling my companions 
on every side of me!"^^ 
1755] 40 l^S« 28 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

The Great Spirit Protects Him — 
Testimony of Indian Chief 

Fifteen years after this battle Washington 
and Dr. Craik, his intimate friend from his boy- 
hood to his death, were travehng on an expedi- 
tion to the western country, for the purpose of 
exploring wild lands. While near the junction 
of the Great Kanawha and Ohio Rivers a com- 
pany of Indians came to them with an interpre- 
ter, at the head of whom was an aged and ven- 
erable chief. The council fire was kindled, when 
the chief addressed Washington through an in- 
terpreter to the following effect : 

"I am a chief, and ruler over my tribes. My 
influence extends to the waters of the great 
lakes, and to the far blue mountains. I have 
traveled a long and weary path, that I might 
see the young warrior of the great battle. It 
was on the day when the white man's blood 
mixed with the streams of our forest, that I first 
beheld this chief. I called to my young men 
and said, mark yon tall and daring warrior .^^ 
He is not of the red-coat tribe — he hath an 
Indian's wisdom, and his warriors fight as we 
do — himself is alone exposed. Quick, let your 
aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were 
leveled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how 
to miss — 'twas all in vain, a power mightier far 
than we, shielded him from harm. He cannot 
Age 23] 41 [1755 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

die in battle. I am old, and soon shall be gath- 
ered to the great council fire of my fathers in 
the land of shades, but ere I go, there is some- 
thing bids me speak in the voice of prophecy. 
Listen! The Great Spirit protects that man, and 
guides his destinies — he will become the chief of 
nations, and a people yet unborn will hail him as 
the founder of a mighty empire .'"^'^ 

Discourages Gambling in the Army 
In a letter to Governor Dinwiddie, from Alex- 
andria, Virginia, February 2, 1756, regarding 
operations in the army, he says, "I have always, 
so far as was in my power, endeavored to dis- 
courage gambling in camp, and always shall 
while I have the honor to preside there. "^^ 

Intemperance and Profanity Discounte- 
nanced 
The following letter to Governor Dinwiddie, 
written from Winchester, Virginia, April 18, 
1756, shows his attitude toward intemperance 
and profanity: 

It gave me infinite concern to find in yours by 
Governor Innes that any representations should in- 
flame the Assembly against the Virginia regiment, 
or give cause to suspect the morality and good be- 
havior of the officers. How far any of the individ- 
uals may have deserved such reflections, I will not 
1756] 42 [Age 24 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

take upon me to determine, but this I am certain of, 
and can call my conscience, and what, I suppose, 
will be still more demonstrative proof in the eyes of 
the world, my orders, to witness how much I have, 
both by threats and persuasive means, endeavored 
to discountenance gambling, drinking, swearing, and 
irregularities of every other kind; while I have, on 
the other hand, practised every artifice to inspire 
a laudable emulation in the officers for the service 
of their country, and to encourage the soldiers in 
the unerring exercise of their duty. How far I have 
failed in this desirable end I cannot pretend to say. 
But it is nevertheless a point which does, in my 
opinion, merit some scrutiny, before it meets with a 
final condemnation. Yet I will not undertake to 
vouch for the conduct of many of the officers, as 
I know there are some who have the seeds of idleness 
very strongly implanted in their natures; and I also 
know that the unhappy difference about the com- 
mand which has kept me from Fort Cumberland, has 
consequently prevented me from enforcing the orders 
which I never failed to send. 

However, if I continue in the service, I shall take 
care to act with a little more rigor than has hitherto 
been practised, since I find it so necessary. ^^ 

Intemperance Punished 

His orders for preserving discipline must be 

allowed to have been suflSciently rigid. The 

following given in 1756 is a specimen: 

Any commissioned officer, who stands by and sees 
Age 24] 43 [1756 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

irregularities committed, and does not endeavor to 
quell them, shall be immediately put under arrest. 
Any non-commissioned officer present, who does not 
interpose, shall be immediately reduced, and receive 
corporal punishment. 

Any soldier who shall presume to quarrel or fight 
shall receive five hundred lashes, without the benefit 
of a court-martial. The offender, upon complaint 
made, shall have strict justice done him. Any sol- 
dier found drunk shall receive one hundred lashes, 
without benefit of a court-martial.^*' 

Profanity Forbidden 

In June, 1756, while at Fort Cumberland, he 
issued the following order : 

Colonel Washington has observed that the men of 
his regiment are very profane and reprobate. He 
takes this opportunity to inform them of his great 
displeasure at such practices, and assures them, that, 
if they do not leave them off, they shall be severely 
punished. The officers are desired, if they hear any 
man swear, or make use of an oath or execration, to 
order the offender twenty-five lashes immediately, 
without a court-martial. For the second offense, 
he will be more severely punished. ^^ 

Protection of Providence 
From Winchester, Virginia, where he was 
stationed as commander of the troops, he writes 
to Governor Dinwiddie, about a year after 
Braddock's defeat: 

1756] 44 [Age 24 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

With this small company of irregulars, with whom 
order, regularity, circumspection, and vigilance were 
matters of derision and contempt, we set out, and by 
the protection of Providence, reached Augusta 
Court House in seven days, without meeting the 
enemy; otherwise we must have fallen a sacrifice 
through the indiscretion of these whooping, hallooing, 
gentlemen soldiers. ^^ 

Chaplain for Army 

While embarked in the French and Indian 
War, as commander of the Virginia forces, he 
earnestly sought of Governor Dinwiddie the 
supply of a chaplain to his regiment. He writes 
from Mount Vernon, Virginia, September 23, 
1756, as follows: "The want of a chaplain, I 
humbly conceive, reflects dishonor on the regi- 
ment, as all other officers are allowed. The 
gentlemen of the corps are sensible of this, and 
proposed to support one at their private expense. 
But I think it would have a more graceful ap- 
pearance were he appointed as others are."^^ 

To this the Governor replied: "I have recom- 
mended to the commissary to get a chaplain, but 
he cannot prevail w^ith any person to accept of 
it. I shall again press it to him."^"* 

In answer to which Washington wrote, No- 
vember 9, 1756 : "As to a chaplain, if the govern- 
ment will grant a subsistence, we can readily 
get a person of merit to accept the place, without 

Age 24] 45 [1756 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

giving the commissary any trouble on that 
point. "3^ 

With this letter, of which this was part, the 
Governor seemed not to have been well pleased. 
In his reply, among other things, indicating dis- 
pleasure, he says, November 24, 1756: "In 
regard to a chaplain, you should know that his 
qualifications and the Bishop's letter of license 
should be produced to the commissary and my- 
self; but this person is also nameless. "^^ 

Washington answered, Nov. 24, 1756: "When 
I spoke of a chaplain, it was in answer to yours. I 
had no person in view, though many have offered; 
and I only said if the country would provide sub- 
sistence, we could procure a chaplain, without 
thinking there was offense in expression. "^^ 

Notwithstanding the importunity of Wash- 
ington, no chaplain was provided by the govern- 
ment. His solicitude on the subject continuing 
at the recall of Dinwiddie, he wrote to the presi- 
dent of the Council from Fort Loudoun, April 
17, 1758, as follows: "The last Assembly, in 
their Supply Bill, provided for a chaplain to our 
regiment. On this subject I had often without 
any success applied to Governor Dinwiddie. I 
now flatter myself, that your honor will be 
pleased to appoint a sober, serious man for this 
duty. Common decency. Sir, in a camp calls 
for the services of a divine, which ought not to 

1756] 46 [Age 24 



A CHRISTIAN SOLDIER 

be dispensed with, although the world should 
be so uncharitable as to think us void of religion, 
and incapable of good instructions."^^ 

Conducts Religious Service in the Army 
"I have often been informed," says the Rev. 
Mason L. Weems, "by Colonel B. Temple, of 
King William County, Virginia, who was one of 
his aides in the French and Indian War, that he 
has 'frequently known Washington, on the Sab- 
bath, read the Scriptures and pray with his regi- 
ment, in the absence of the chaplain;' and also 
that, on sudden and unexpected visits to his 
marque, he has, 'more than once, found him on 
his knees at his devotions. '"^^ 

Letter to His Fiancee 
In the only known letter to Mrs. Martha Cus- 
tis, to whom he was engaged, written from Fort 
Cumberland, July 20, 1758, he recognizes an all- 
powerful Providence: 

We have begun our march for the Ohio. A courier 
is starting for Williamsburg, and I embrace the op- 
portunity to send a few lines to one whose life is now 
inseparable from mine. Since that happy hour 
when we made our pledges to each other, my thoughts 
have been continually going to you as to another 
Self. That an All-powerful Providence may keep 
us both in safety is the prayer of your ever faithful 
and ever affectionate Friend.'*^ 
Age 26] 47 [1758 



CHAPTER IV 
THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

Marriage 

He was married January 6, 1759, just after 
the battle of Fort Duquesne, to Mrs. Martha 
Custis, by the Rev. David Mossom, rector of 
Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, New Kent 
County, Virginia. Immediately they took up 
their residence at Mount Vernon, and became 
very active in church affairs. 

Buys Bibles and Prayer Books for Step- 
children 

When John Parke was eight years old, and his 
sister Patsey six, their kind stepfather, writing 
to London in October, 1761, for articles of cloth- 
ing and other things for the two children, in- 
cludes the following for Master John: 

A small Bible neatly bound in Turkey, and John 
Parke Custis wrote in gilt letters on the inside of the 
cover. 

A neat small Prayer Book bound as above, with 
John Parke Custis as above. 

And the following for Miss Patsey: 

1759] 48 [Age 27 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

A neat, small Bible, bound in Turkey, and Martha 
Parke Custis wrote on the inside in gilt letters. 

A small Prayer Book neat and in the same man- 
ner.'*^ 

A Vestryman 

From 1748 till 1759 there was little church- 
going for the young surveyor or soldier, but after 
his marriage and settling at Mount Vernon he 
was elected vestryman in the parish of Truro and 
from that election he was quite active in church 
affairs. 

At the time of which we are speaking, "the 
Established," or Episcopal Church, predomi- 
nated throughout the ancient "dominion" (Vir- 
ginia), as it was termed; each county was divided 
into parishes, as in England, each with its church, 
its parsonage, and glebe. Truro Parish at that 
time contained three churches, namely, old Po- 
hick, the old Falls, and an old church in Alex- 
andria. 

(1) Elected and Qualified 

The old vestry book of Pohick Church has 
this entry: "At a Vestry held for Truro Parish, 
October 25, 1762, ordered, that George Wash- 
ington, Esq. be chosen and appointed one of the 
Vestry-men of this Parish, in the room of 
William Peake, Gent, deceased. "^^ 

The court records show that "At a Court 
held for the County of Fairfax, 15th February, 

Age 30] 49 [1762 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

1763 — George Washington, Esq. took the oaths 
according to Law, repeated and subscribed the 
Test and subscribed to the Doctrine and Disci- 
pline of the Church of England in order to qualify 
him to act as a Vestryman of Truro Parish." 

Thus in due form Washington protested his 
loyalty and his orthodoxy, and took his place as 
one of the "twelve most able and discreet men 
of the Parish," whom the old statutes required 
to form the vestry.^^ 

Among the manuscripts in the library of the 
New York Historical Society is a leaf from the 
church record of Pohick. It contains the names 
of the first vestry, and a few others. The fol- 
lowing is a copy from the original. The names 
were signed at different times, during the sum- 
mer and autumn of 1765: 

"I, A B, do declare that I will be conformable to 
the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of Eng- 
land, a.s by law established. 

"1765. May 20th— Thomsis Withers Coffer, 

Thomas Ford, John Ford. 
'^19th August — Geo. Washington, Daniel 
M'Carty," etc.^^ 

(2) Vestry Meetings 
The vestry seems to have met statedly twice 
a year, and at other times as occasion demanded. 
The meetings were usually held at one of the 

1765] 50 [Age 33 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

churches, but occasionally at the house of one or 
another of the vestrymen; and sometimes they 
lasted two or three days. Attendance upon 
these meetings from Mount Vernon involved a 
ride, going and returning, of from fourteen to 
forty miles. The vestry records attest, how- 
ever, the regularity with which Colonel Wash- 
ington was present; and when it is remembered 
how frequently his public duties and private 
interests took him out of the county, one is 
readily convinced that he brought to the dis- 
charge of the duties of this office the same con- 
scientious purpose and fidelity which marked 
his career in more conspicuous stations. In his 
diary, though kept irregularly during this period, 
there are frequent references to his attending 
.vestry meetings, such as the following: 

1768— July 16— Went by Muddy Hole and Dog 
Run to the vestry at Pohick Church — stayed there 
till after 3 o'clock and only four members coming, 
returned by Captain McCartys and dined there. 

September 9 — proceeded [from Alexandria] to the 
meeting of our Vestry at the new Church [Payne's] 
and lodged at Captain Edward Payne's. 

Nov. 28— Went to the Vestry at Pohick Church. 

1769— March 3— Went to the Vestry at Pohick 
Church and returned at 11 o'clock at night. 

Sept. 23 — Captain Posey called here in the morn- 
ing and we went to a Vestry. 
Age 36] 51 [1768 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

1772 — June 5 — Met the Vestry at our new Church 
[Payne's] and came home in the afternoon. 

1774 — Feb. 15 — I went to a Vestry at the new 
Church [Payne's] and returned in the afternoon. 

Until called to the North in the service of his 
country, Washington continued in active and 
untiring service as a vestryman, and nominally 
held the office during the Revolutionary War."*' 

Washington resigned from the Vestry in 1782, 
in a letter to Captain Daniel IVlcCarty, Esq., 
also a member, after a continuous membership of 
twenty years. ^^ 

(3) A Church Warden 
The Church wardens were generally the ex- 
ecutive and accounting officers of the vestry, 
having oversight of the church buildings and 
making repairs, and being charged with the 
relief of the poor and binding out orphans and 
indigent children as apprentices, making careful 
provision for their moral training and a meager 
education. They had also to present to the 
court or grand jury persons guilty of Sabbath- 
breaking, of not attending church, or disturbing 
public worship, of drunkenness, profane swear- 
ing, and other more serious immoralities, and to 
receive the fines imposed in certain cases for the 
use of the parish. Church wardens were elected 
each year; and in Truro the more prominent 

1774] 5g [Age 42 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

or more willing vestrymen seem to have served 
in some sort of rotation. Washington held this 
office for three terms at least within ten years."*^ 

(4) Falls Church 

The Falls Church derived its name from one 
of the falls of the Potomac. Originally it be- 
longed to Truro Parish, being served by the 
same rector and the same vestry, of which Wash- 
ington was a member. Later it became a part 
of Fairfax Parish, in which was Christ Church, 
Alexandria. 

The old Truro Parish Vestry book records a 
meeting of the vestry at the Falls Church on 
March 28, 1763, at which George Washington 
was present. At that meeting it was resolved 
to erect a new building at the same place. In 
Washington's diary for 1764 is entered a copy of 
an advertisement for "undertakers to build 
Falls Church," showing him to have been on its 
original building committee. ^^ 

(5) Payne's Church 

The vestry records show that "At a Vestry 
held for Truro Parish, the 28th, 29th and 30th 
days of November, 1765," George Washington 
being present, it was decided to build a new 
church in the upper part of the parish. 

"At a Vestry held for Truro Parish at Mr. 
(Age 311) 53 [1763 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

William Gardner's on the 3d and 4th days of 
February, 1766," the site was chosen and the 
contract let. George Washington was made 
chairman of the building committee. The 
church became known as Payne's Church, from 
the name of the builder. It is in Fairfax 
County.^9 

(6) Pohick Church 

Before the Revolution, Washington's regular 
place of worship was Pohick Church, seven miles 
west of Mount Vernon, although sometimes he 
went to the Episcopal Church in Alexandria, 
Virginia, ten miles north, both being in the same 
parish. 

Pohick Church derived its curious name from 
a small river near it. Mount Vernon was in 
Truro Parish, and when the old place of worship 
went to decay (1767) there was considerable ex- 
citement among the people as to the location of 
the new one. A meeting for settling the ques- 
tion was finally held, and after George Mason 
had made a very pathetic speech, calling upon 
those present not to desert the spot which had 
been made sacred by the bones of their ancestors, 
Washington arose, and drew from his pocket an 
accurate survey of the whole parish, in which 
were marked the site of the old church, and the 
proposed location of the new one, with the resi- 
dence of each parishioner. Having spread out 

1767] 54, [Age 36 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

the map, and briefly explained it, he expressed 
the hope that they would not suffer their better 
judgments to be overruled by their feelings, and 
sat down. The silent argument of the map was 
perfectly convincing and the new site was de- 
termined on.^^ 

In the year 1769 the plans of the new building 
were drawn up, it is said, by Washington.^^ He 
was chairman of the building committee and 
supervised its erection. "A large share of the 
expense incurred in its erection was borne by 
Washington himself ."^^ 

Church Attendance 
He attended at one or the other of these 
(Pohick or Alexandria) with his family every 
Sunday, except when the weather was too in- 
clement, and in such cases he read the church 
service in the parlor at home. 

His demeanor in church was always reveren- 
tial and devout. He bore his part in the re- 
sponse, and bowed his head at the mention of 
the name of Jesus in the Creed. Mrs. Wash- 
ington and himself were both communicants. 
As soon as the Custis children were old enough 
they were instructed in the Church Catechism.^^ 
"Mrs. Washington knelt during the prayers; 
he always stood, as was the custom at that 
time."^^ 
Age 37] 55 [1769 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Public Worship 
The Rev. Lee Massey was the rector of the 
parish (Pohick Church) at the time referred to. 
He was a highly respectable man and shared 
much of the esteem of Washington. In regard 
to the religious deportment of his distinguished 
friend, especially in the house of God, he was 
often heard to express himself in the following 
strain: "I never knew so constant an attendant 
on church as Washington. And his behavior in 
the house of God was ever so deeply reverential 
that it produced the happiest effects on my con- 
gregation, and greatly assisted me in my pulpit 
labors."^^ 

Not Kept from Church by Company 
"No company ever withheld him from church," 
says the Rev. Lee Massey. "I have often been 
at Mount Vernon on the Sabbath morning when 
his breakfast table was filled with guests, but 
to him they furnished no pretext for neglect- 
ing his God, and losing the satisfaction of set- 
ting a good example. For, instead of staying 
at home, out of false complaisance to them, 
he used constantly to invite them to accom- 
pany him."^^ 

Extracts from Diary 
The following extracts from his diary (1768) 

1768] 5g [Age 36 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

covering a few months are evidence of his faith- 
ful attendance at church at home or abroad: 

May 8th, Went to Church from Colonel Bassett's. 

May 22nd, Went to Church at Nomini. 

May 29th, church at St. Paul's. 

June 5th, to church at Alexandria. 

June 12th, at Pohick. 

August, Nomini in Westmoreland. 

November 15th, at Pohick.^^ 

A Communicant 
In 1835 the Rev. E. C. M'Guire, rector of the 
Episcopal church at Fredericksburg, Virginia, 
writes as follows: 

Among the aged persons residing in the neighbor- 
hood of Mount Vernon, and the descendants of such 
others, as have recently gone down to the grave, 
there is but one opinion in regard to the fact of his 
having been a communicant in the Pohick Church, 
previous to the Revolutionary War. The writer 
himself had it from a respectable lady, that she had 
once heard her mother unqualifiedly declare that 
General Washington was a communicant in that 
church, in the vicinity of which she had her residence, 
and on the services of which she attended. A living 
granddaughter of the Rev. Lee Massey, rector of 
Mount Vernon Parish for some years after Washing- 
ton's marriage, says her grandfather on a special 
occasion told her the same thing in answer to a par- 
ticular inquiry on the subject.^^ 
Age 3^] 57 [1768 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

"He partook regularly of the communion un- 
til he entered the office of general in the Ameri- 
can Army."^^ 

It was the custom in the colonial churches to ad- 
minister communion only at Christmas, Easter, 
and Whitsuntide, and it was not an uncommon 
practice for communicants to receive only once 
a year. 

Was Not Confirmed 

There was no bishop in this country, and con- 
sequently no administration of confirmation 
until after the Revolution. There were many 
unconfirmed communicants in the church in 
the colonial days. The first bishop for the 
colonies was the Rev. Dr. Samuel Seabury. He 
was consecrated at Aberdeen, Scotland, No- 
vember 14, 1784. It was early in 1785 when he 
arrived in America. Washington was then fifty- 
three years old. Having been a communicant 
and active in church affairs all his life, he prob- 
ably did not feel the necessity of being confirmed 
at his age. It is very likely that he did not 
relish having an English-ordanied bishop, for 
in his diary, October 10, 1785, among other 
things, he adds, "nor any desire to open corre- 
spondence with the new ordained bishop."^'' 

Grace at Table 
But it was not in the duties of public worship 
58 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

alone that Washington was careful to bear his 
part. Probably few Christians have been more 
attentive to their private devotions, at all times, 
and in all circumstances. No matter how ur- 
gent the business which engaged his attention, 
he never forgot his daily dependence upon God, 
and that his favor must be sought in earnest 
prayer. 

It may be properly added, as an evidence of 
his devotional habits, that he always said grace 
at table. On one occasion from the force of 
habit he performed this duty when a clergyman 
was present — an instance of indecorum quite 
unusual with him. Being told of the incivility, 
after the minister's departure, he expressed his 
regret at the oversight, but added, "The reverend 
gentleman will at least be assured that we are 
not entirely graceless at Mount Vernon."®^ 

Pew in Episcopal Church, Alexandria 
The new parish of Fairfax was separated from 
Truro Parish June 7, 1765. It included Falls 
Church and the church at Alexandria, Virginia.^^ 
There is no evidence that Washington was a 
vestryman in this Parish, as has been stated by 
some writers. A former attempt had been made 
to establish Fairfax Parish, and he had been elect- 
ed a vestryman, but the parish never was organ- 
ized, nor did the vestry ever meet or qualify.^^ 
59 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

A new building was erected in Alexandria. 
It was completed in 1773. On the day it was 
turned over to the vestry, February 27, 1773, 
additional funds being needed, Washington pur- 
chased for thirty -six pounds, 10 shillings, the 
pew then known as Number 5, the highest price 
paid. 

The Washington pew is the only square pew 
left, the others having been cut down and 
divided. He attended this church frequently 
before the Revolution, and regularly after his 
retirement to Mount Vernon. ^^ 

Going to Church in the Family Coach 
"To the churchgoers the great family coach 
of the Washingtons was a familiar sight. Made 
in England, it was both substantial and elegant, 
if somewhat heavy. Four horses were necessary 
to draw it, but when the Virginia roads were 
very bad six were used; and to each span of 
horses there were the liveried postillion riders. "^^ 

Prays at Bedside of Dying Stepdaughter 

Mrs. Washington's only remaining daughter 
(Martha) died on the 19th of June, 1773, at the 
age of sixteen. She was naturally of a frail con- 
stitution, and had for many months been gradu- 
ally fading away. The heat of summer seemed 
rapidly to develop the seeds of consumption 

1773] ^0 lAge 41 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

which were lurking in her system, and when her 
affectionate stepfather, the only father she had 
ever known, returned home, after a short ab- 
sence at Williamsburg on public duty, he was 
shocked to discover the change. The tender and 
doting mother, upon whose watchful care the 
prolonged illness of the feeble child had made 
large drafts, was nearly overwhelmed with grief, 
and Washington, falling on his knees at the 
bedside, with a passionate burst of tears, prayed 
aloud that the loved one might be spared. ^^ 
"Upon the wings of that holy prayer her spirit 
ascended, and when he arose and looked upon 
her pale and placid face, death had set its seal 
there." 

"The sweet, innocent girl," Washington wrote, 
"entered into a more happy and peaceful abode 
than she had met with in the afflicted path she 
had hitherto trod."^^ 

Fasting 
In the year 1774 Washington went to Wil- 
liamsburg as a member of the house of burgesses. 
The horizon of our country was then becoming 
dark with clouds, portending the approach of 
war. In the month of May, a short time after 
the members had assembled, information was 
received of an act of Parliament for shutting up 
the port of Boston — to take effect on the first 

Age 42] Ql [1774 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

of June. (The purpose was to crush the Httle 
rebel town of Boston, because of the "Boston 
Tea Party.") The members being much ex- 
cited by this hostile proceeding on the part of 
the British government, when they met on the 
24th day of May, passed an order that the 1st 
day of June "should be set apart by that house 
as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, 
devoutly to implore the divine interposition for 
averting the heavy calamity which threatened 
destruction to their civil rights, and the evils of 
civil war, and to give them one heart and one 
mind, firmly to oppose, by all just and proper 
means, every injury to American rights." 

June the first being the day appointed, the 
following brief entry is found in a diary kept by 
Washington at that time: 

"June 1st, Wednesday. — Went to church, and 
fasted all day,"®^ thus conforming not only to 
the spirit, but to the strict letter of the order. 

"He always meant what he said, being of a 
simple nature, and when he fasted and prayed 
there was something ominously earnest about 
it, something that his excellency the Governor, 
who liked the Society of this agreeable man and 
wise counselor, would have done well to consider 
and draw conclusions from, which he probably 
did not heed at all. He might have reflected, 
as he undoubtedly failed to do, that when men 

1774] QO [Age 42 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

of the George Washington type fast and pray 
on account of political misdoings, it is well for 
their opponents to look to it carefully. "^^ 

Announces Decision to Fight 
After service (at Alexandria) one Sunday 
morning in the summer of 1774, surrounded by 
the congregation, every one of whom he well 
knew, Washington advocated withdrawing alle- 
giance from King George, and stated that he 
would fight to uphold the independence of the 
colonies. No more solemn time or occasion 
could have been chosen. With calmness, in a 
spirit of prayerful deliberation, he announced 
his momentous decision under the very shadow 
of the church. ^° 

Washington Kneels During Prayer 
The first of September, 1774, Washington left 
home for Philadelphia as a member from Vir- 
ginia of the First Continental Congress about to 
meet in that city. It met on the fifth. The 
first two days were spent in organizing and 
arranging preliminaries, when it was proposed 
that the sessions should be opened with prayer. 
The Rev. Jacob Duche, an Episcopal clergyman, 
was invited to officiate. The first morning, 
September 7, 1774, he read the thirty -fifth 
psalm, which begins as follows: 

Age 42] 63 [1774 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

"Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that 
strive with me: fight against them that fight 
against me. 

"Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand 
up for mine help. 

"Draw out also the spear, and stop the way 
against them that persecute me: say unto my 
soul, I am thy salvation." 

After the Psalm, Mr. Duche offered the fol- 
lowing prayer: "O Lord our Heavenly Father, 
high and mighty King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords, who dost from Thy throne behold all the 
dwellers on earth, and reignest with power 
supreme and uncontrolled over all kingdoms, 
empires and governments; look down in mercy 
we beseech Thee, on these American States, who 
have fled to Thee from the rod of the oppressor, 
and thrown themselves on Thy gracious protec- 
tion, desiring to be henceforth dependent only 
on Thee; to Thee they have appealed for the 
righteousness of their cause; to Thee do they 
now look up for that countenance and support 
which Thou alone canst give; take them, there- 
fore. Heavenly Father, under Thy nurturing 
care; give them wisdom in council, and valor in 
the field; defeat the malicious designs of our 
cruel adversaries, convince them of the un- 
righteousness of their cause; and if they still 
persist in their sanguinary purposes, O let the 

1774] 54 [Age 42 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

voice of Thine own unerring justice sounding in 
their hearts constrain them to drop the weapons 
of war from their unnerved hands in the day of 
battle. Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, 
and direct the councils of this honorable assem- 
bly; enable them to settle things on the best and 
surest foundation, that the scene of blood may 
be speedily closed, that order, harmony, and 
peace, may be effectually restored; and truth 
and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flour- 
ish amongst Thy people. Preserve the health 
of their bodies and the vigor of their minds; 
shower down on them and the millions they here 
represent, such temporal blessings as Thou seest 
expedient for them in this world and crown them 
with everlasting glory in the world to come. 
All this we ask in the name and through the 
merits of Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Saviour. 
Amen."7i 

John Adams's Letter 

John Adams, in a letter to his wife on the day 
following, thus describes the scene: 

"You must remember this was the morning 
after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannon- 
ade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect 
upon an audience. It seemed as if heaven had 
ordained that psalm to be read on that morning. 
After this Mr. Duche unexpectedly to every- 

Age 42] 65 [1774 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

body struck out into an extemporary prayer, 
which filled the bosom of every man present. 
Episcopalian as he is, Doctor Cooper himself 
never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such 
earnestness and pathos, and in language so elo- 
quent and sublime, for America, for the Con- 
gress, for the province of Massachusetts Bay, 
and especially the town of Boston. It had an 
excellent effect upon everybody here.""^^ 

"Washington was kneeling, and Henry, and 
Randolph, and Rutledge, and Lee, and Jay, and 
by their sides there stood, bowed in reverence, 
the Puritan patriots of New England." 

Attends Public Worship 

The following entries made in his diary, show 
him still mindful of the Sabbath day, and of the 
the duty of public worship. Being a stranger 
in the city, and lodging at a public house, there 
may not have been the regularity of attendance 
which usually distinguished him: 

September 25th — Went to Quaker meeting in the 
forenoon, and to St. Peter's in the afternoon; dined 
at my lodgings. 

October 2d — Went to church, and dined at the new 
tavern. 

9th — Went to the Presbyterian meeting in the 
afternoon; dined at Bevan's. 

16th — Went to Christ church in the morning; after 
1774] QQ [Age 42 



THE ACTIVE CHURCHMAN 

which rode to and dined at the Province Island; 
supped at Byrn's.^^ 

"He is Always Right" 
Mrs. Washington ardently sympathized with 
her husband in his patriotic measures. To a 
kinswoman who deprecated what she called "his 
folly" Mrs. Washington wrote in 1774: "Yes, 
I foresee consequences — dark days, domestic 
happiness suspended, social enjoyments aban- 
doned, and eternal separations on earth possible. 
But my mind is made up, my heart is in the 
cause. George is right; he is always right. God 
has promised to protect the righteous, and I 
will trust Him."^^ 



Age 42] g7 [1774 



CHAPTER V 

THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF TRUSTS 
IN GOD 

"God on Our Side" 
When General Washington was told that the 
British troops at Lexington, on the memorable 
19th of April, 1775, had fired on and killed 
several of the Americans, he rephed: "/ grieve 
for the death of my countrymen; hut rejoice that 
the British are still determined to keep God on our 
side,'' alluding to that noble sentiment which 
he later so happily expressed, viz : " The smiles 
of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that 
disregards the eternal rules of order and right, 
which Heaven itself has ordained.''"^^ 

Letters to His Wife 
In a letter to his wife, on Sunday, June 18, 
1775, from Philadelphia, he expresses his trust 
in God as follows: "I shall rely, therefore, con- 
fidently on that Providence, which has hereto- 
fore preserved and been bountiful to me, not 

doubting but that I shall return safe to you in 
thefall."^^ 

Just as he was leaving Philadelphia to take 

1775] gg [Age 43 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

command of the army, in another letter to his 
wife, June 22, 1775, he says: "I go, fully trusting 
in that Providence which has been more bountiful 
to me than I deserve, and in full confidence of a 
happy meeting with you in the fall."^^ 

First General Order to the Army 
July 4, 1775, the day after he took command 
of the army, an order was issued, in which we 
find the following injunction: 

The General most earnestly requires and expects a 
due observance of those articles of war established 
for the government of the army, which forbid pro- 
fane cursing, swearing, and drunkenness. And in 
like manner he requires and expects of all officers 
and soldiers, not engaged in actual duty, a punctual 
attendance on Divine service, to implore the blessing 
of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and 
defense.^^ 

Prayers Every Morning 
A few days after this order was published, the 
Rev. William Emerson, who was a minister at 
Concord at the time of the battle, and now a 
chaplain in the army, writes to a friend: "There 
is great overturning in the camp as to order and 
regularity. New lords, new laws. The Gen- 
erals Washington and Lee are upon the lines 
every day. New orders from his Excellency are 

Age 43] 69 U775 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

read to the respective regiments every morning, 
after pray ers."^^ 

Orders Army to Attend Divine Service 
The Continental Congress having ordered a 
day of fasting and prayer, General Washington 
issued the following order, July 20, 1775: 

The General orders this day to be religiously ob- 
served by the Forces under his Command, exactly 
in manner directed by the Continental Congress. 
It is therefore strictly enjoined on all Officers and 
Soldiers to attend Divine Service; and it is expected 
that all those who go to worship do take their Arms, 
Ammunition, and Accoutrements, & are prepared 
for immediate action if called upon.^° 

Success Depends Upon All- Wise Disposer 
Of Events 
He sends a circular to the major and brigadier- 
generals, from the camp at Cambridge, Septem- 
ber 8, 1775, asking their judgment of a proposed 
attack on the British at Boston, saying: "The 
success of such an enterprise depends, I well 
know, upon the All-Wise Disposer of events, 
and it is not within the reach of human wisdom 
to fortell the issue. "^^ 

Rights of Conscience 
In his instructions to Benedict Arnold for 

1775] 70 [Age 43 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

his campaign against Quebec, given at head- 
quarters, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Septem- 
ber 14, 1775, the last of fourteen items reads as 
follows : 

As the contempt of the religion of a country by 
ridiculing any of its ceremonies, or affronting its 
ministers or votaries, has ever been deeply resented, 
you are to be particularly careful to restrain every 
officer and soldier from such imprudence and folly, 
and to punish every instance of it. On the other 
hand, as far as lies in your power, you are to protect 
and support the free exercise of the religion of the 
country, and the undisturbed enjoyment of the 
rights of conscience in religious matters, with your 
utmost influence and authority. ^^ 

"Rights of Conscience" 

In a letter to Colonel Benedict Arnold the 
same day, September 14, 1775, he says: 

I also give it in charge to you to avoid all dis- 
respect of the religion of the country, and its cere- 
monies. Prudence, policy, and a true Christian 
spirit will lead us to look with compassion upon their 
errors without insulting them. Wiile we are con- 
tending for our own liberty, we should be very cau- 
tious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, 
ever considering that God alone is the judge of the 
hearts of men, and to Him only in this case they are 
answerable. ^^ 
Age 43] 71 [1775 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Message to the Inhabitants of Canada 
He sent a message to the inhabitants of 
Canada, which was printed in handbills before 
Arnold left Cambridge, with the view of hav- 
ing the copies distributed as soon as he should 
arrive in Canada. He says in part: 

The Colonies, confiding in the justness of their 
cause, and the purity of their intentions, have re- 
luctantly appealed to that Being in whose hands are 
all human events. He has hitherto smiled upon 
their virtuous efforts, the hand of tyranny has been 
arrested in its ravages, and the British arms, which 
have shone with so much splendor in every part of 
the globe, are now tarnished with disgrace and dis- 
appointment.^^ 

Punishes Gambling 
October 2, 1775, he issued the following order: 

Any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier 
who shall hereafter be detected playing at toss-up, 
pitch, and hustle, or any other games of chance, in 
or near the camp or village bordering on the en- 
campments, shall without delay be confined and 
punished for disobedience of orders. The General 
does not mean by the above to discourage sports of 
exercise or recreation, he only means to discounte- 
nance and punish gaming. ^^ 

Hospitality to the Poor 
On Sunday, the 26th of November, 1775, the 

1776] 72 [Age 43 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

General writes from Cambridge to Lund Wash- 
ington, Mount Vernon, superintendent of his 
plantations and business agent during the Revo- 
lution, giving instructions thus: 

Let the hospitality of the house, with respect to 
the poor, be kept up. Let no one go hungry away. 
If any of this kind of people should be in want of corn, 
supply their necessities, provided it does not en- 
courage them in idleness, and I have no objection to 
your giving my money in charity to the amount of 
forty or fifty pounds a year when you think it well 
bestowed. What I mean by having no objection is 
that it is my desire that it should be done. You are 
to consider that neither myself nor wife is now in 
the way to do these good offices. In all other re- 
spects I recommend it to you, and have no doubt of 
your observing the greatest economy and frugality; 
as I suppose you know that I do not get a farthing 
for my services here, more than my expenses. It 
becomes necessary, therefore, for me to be saving at 
home.^^ 

And while speaking on this subject, it will 
not be amiss to add, that one of the General's 
managers, Mr. Peake, a respectable man, 
after the war, once said in reference to this 
subject: 

"I had orders from General Washington to 
fill a corn -house every year for the sole use of 
the poor in my neighborhood, to whom it was 

Age 43] 73 [1775 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

a most seasonable and precious relief, saving 
numbers of poor women and children from ex- 
treme want, and blessing with plenty. 

'*And when, on one occasion, much distress 
prevailed in the country round, on account of 
the failure of the harvest, he purchased several 
bushels of corn at a high price to be given away 
to those who were most in want, and most 
deserving of relief. "^^ 

His benevolence "was a quiet and unfailing 
stream, which never brawled its way in the noon- 
day sun, but flowed silently and unseen, and 
only betrayed its course by the green fertility 
of its margin. "^^ 

Attends Church 

On Sunday, December 3, 1775, he attended 
service at the Rev. Dr. Appleton's Church; dis- 
course by Abiel Leonard, chaplain to General 
Putnam's command. This was the "Old Congre- 
gational Church," which Washington attended 
while in Cambridge, the minister being the 
venerable Nathaniel Appleton.^^ 

The first Sunday after Mrs. Washington ar- 
rived at headquarters, Christ Church (Episco- 
pal) being used for military purposes, they 
attended the Congregational church, as noted 
in Dorothy Dudley's diary, as follows : 

"December 18th — Mrs. Washington was at 

1775] 74, [Age 43 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

church yesterday with the General. . . . Dr. 
Appleton prayed most earnestly for our country 
and its defenders, alluding pointedly and affec- 
tionately to the chief ofHcer of the army. . . . 
Mrs. Washington has expressed a wish that 
Christ Church may be put in readiness for 
services, and orders have gone forth to that 
effect."9o 

Two weeks later service was held in Christ 
Church as shown by the following interesting 
note in the diary of Dorothy Dudley: 

"January 1, 1776. — Yesterday service was 
held in Christ Church. I was invited to be 
present. Colonel William Palfrey, at request 
of Mrs. Washington, read the service and made a 
prayer of a form different from that commonly 
used for the King. . . . General and Mrs. Wash- 
ington, Mrs. Gates, Mrs. Morgan, Mrs. Mifflin, 
Mrs. Curtis, and many others, including officers, 
were present. The General is loyal to his 
church as to his country, though he had identi- 
fied himself with our parish [Congregational] 
during his residence among us. . . . The Gen- 
eral's majestic figure bent reverently in prayer 
as with devout earnestness he entered into the 
service. "^^ 

Finger of Providence 
He writes to Joseph Reed on Sunday, January 

Age 44] 75 [1776 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

14, 1776, concerning difficulties of the army — 
lack of food, clothing, guns, etc., as follows : 

The reflection on my situation, and that of this 
army, produce many an unhappy hour when all 
around me are wrapped in sleep. Few people know 
the predicament we are in, on a thousand accounts; 
fewer still will believe, if any disaster happens to 
these lines, from what cause it flows. I have often 
thought how much happier I should have been, if, 
instead of accepting the command under such cir- 
cumstances, I had taken my musket on my shoulder 
and entered the ranks, or, if I could have justified 
the measure to posterity and my own conscience, 
have retired to the back country and lived in a wig- 
wam. If I shall be able to rise superior to these and 
many other difficulties which might be enumerated, 
I shall most religiously believe that the finger of 
Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies; 
for surely if we get well through this month, it must 
be for want of their knowing the disadvantages we 
labor under. ^^ 

Gambling Again Condemned 

On the 26th of February, 1776, the following 
orders were issued: 

All officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers 
are positively forbid playing at cards and other 
games of chance. At this time of public distress 
men may find enough to do in the service of their 
1776] 7g [Age 44 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

God and their country, without abandoning them- 
selves to vice and immorahty.^^ 

Fast Day 
March 6, 1776, General Washington issued at 
Cambridge the following order: 

Thursday, the 7th instant, being set apart by the 
honorable the Legislature of this Province as a day 
of fasting, prayer, and humiliation, *'to implore the 
Lord and Giver of all victory to pardon our manifold 
sins and wickedness, and that it would please Him to 
bless the Continental arms with His divine favor and 
protection," all officers and soldiers are strictly en- 
joined to pay all due reverence and attention on that 
day to the sacred duties to the Lord of hosts for His 
mercies already received, and for those blessings 
which our holiness and uprightness of life can alone 
encourage us to hope through His mercy to obtain. ^^ 

Special Providence 
In his answer to an address from the General 
Assembly of Massachusetts, following evacua- 
tion of Boston by the British, March 17, 1776, 
he closed : 

And it being effected without the blood of our 
soldiers and fellow-citizens must be ascribed to the 
interposition of that Providence which has mani- 
festly appeared in our behalf through the whole of 
this important struggle, as well as to the measures 
pursued for bringing about the happy event. 
Age 44] 77 [1776 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

May that Being who is powerful to save, and in 
whose hands is the fate of nations, look down with 
an eye of tender pity and compassion upon the whole 
of the United Colonies; may He continue to smile 
upon their counsels and arms, and crown them with 
success, whilst employed in the cause of virtue and 
mankind. May this distressed colony and its capi- 
tal, and every part of this wide extended continent, 
through His divine favor, be restored to more than 
their former lustre and once happy state, and have 
peace, liberty, and safety secured upon a solid, per- 
manent, and lasting foundation.^^ 

Attends Thanksgiving Service 
On the same day, a few hours after the de- 
parture of the British, Washington and his 
officers attended thanksgiving service, and lis- 
tened to the Rev. Dr. Abiel Leonard preach 
from Exodus 14. 25: "And he took off their 
chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily; so 
that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face 
of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against 
theEgyptians."^^ 

Asks for Thanksgiving Sermon 
In his journal for March 23, 1776, Dr. James 
Thacher says that when Washington entered 
Boston after the evacuation by the British, "He 
[W^ashington] requested Reverend Doctor [An- 
drew] Eliot, at the renewal of his customary 

1776] 78 [Age 44 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

Thursday lecture, to preach a thanksgiving ser- 
mon, adapted to the joyful occasion. Accord- 
ingly, on the 28th, this pious divine preached an 
appropriate discourse. "^^ 

The Thanksgr^ixg Service 

A newspaper at the time gave the following 
account of the service: 

Thursday [March 28] the Lecture, which was es- 
tablished, and has been observed from the first settle- 
ment of Boston, without interruption, until within 
these few months past, was opened by the Reverend 
Doctor Eliot. His Excellency General Washington, 
the other General Officers and their suites, having 
been previously invited, met in the Council Chamber, 
from whence, preceded by the Sheriff with his Wand, 
attended by the members of the Council, who had 
had the smallpox, the Committee of the House of 
Representatives, the Selectmen, the Clerg;v% and 
many other Gentlemen, they repaired to the old 
Brick Meeting House, where an excellent and well 
adapted discourse was dehvered from those words in 
the XXXIII chapter of Isaiah, and 20th verse. After 
divine service was ended his Excellency, attended 
and accompanied as before, returned to the Council 
Chamber, from whence they proceeded to the Bunch 
of Grapes tavern, where an elegant dinner was 
pro\'ided at the public expense. . . . Joy and grati- 
tude sat on every countenance, and smiled in every 
eye.^^ 
Age 44] 79 [1776 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Interposition of Providence 
In a letter to his brother, John Augustine 
Washington, written from Cambridge, Massa- 
chusetts, March 31, 1776, speaking of the evacu- 
ation of Boston, he says: 

Upon their discovery of the works next morning, 
great preparations were made for attacking them; 
but not being ready before the afternoon, and the 
weather getting very tempestuous, much blood was 
saved, and a very important blow, to one side or the 
other, was prevented. That this most remarkable 
interposition of Providence is for some wise purpose, 
I have not a doubt. ^^ 

No Kind of Amusements 
Washington was very strict in his deportment 
in the army. Concerning horse-racing, gam- 
bling, etc., in a letter to the President of Congress, 
dated New York, April, 1776, he thus writes: 
"I give in to no kind of amusements myself and 
consequently those about me [alluding to his 
aids] can have none."^'^ 

Prayers for King to be Omitted 
Soon after Washington assumed command in 
New York he sent word to Dr. Inglis, then as- 
sistant rector of the Trinity Church in that city, 
that he would be glad to have the prayers for 
the king and the royal family omitted. The 

1776] 80 [Age 44 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

American general was sincerely desirous to be 
present at the services of his own church; but a 
person of even less ingrained veracity than Gen- 
eral Washington would have scrupled to join in 
supplications for the victory of a monarch 
against whom he had set in line of battle twenty 
thousand soldiers, carrying pouches filled with 
bullets which had been cast from the metal of 
his Majesty's statue. ^^^ 

Observance of a Fast 
May 15, 1776, he issued the following order: 

The Continental Congress having ordered Friday 
the 17th instant to be observed as a day of fasting, 
humiliation, and prayer, humbly to supplicate the 
mercy of Almighty God, that it would please Him to 
pardon all our manifold sins and transgressions, and 
to prosper the arms of the United Colonies, and 
finally establish the peace and freedom of America 
upon a solid and lasting foundation; the General com- 
mands all oflScers and soldiers to pay strict obedience 
to the orders of the Continental Congress; that, by 
their unfeigned and pious observance of their re- 
ligious duties, they may incline the Lord and Giver 
of victory to prosper our arms.^^^ 

Believes Cause Just 
In a letter to John Augustine Washington, 
written from Philadelphia, May 31, 1776, speak- 
ing of the army being unprepared for the bloody 

Age 44] SX [l'^76 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

campaign which was evidently before it, he says, 
"However, it is to be hoped, that, if our cause is 
just, as I do most rehgiously beheve it to be, 
the same Providence, which has in many in- 
stances appeared for us, will still go on to afford 
its aid."io^ 

Relies upon Supreme Being 
In view of an expected attack from the com- 
bined forces of the enemy, the following order 
was issued, July 2, 1776: 

The time is now near at hand which must prob- 
ably determine whether Americans are to be freemen 
or slaves; whether they are to have any property 
they can call their own; whether their houses and 
farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and they 
consigned to a state of wretchedness, from which no 
human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate 
of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on 
the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel 
and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice but a 
brave resistance or the most abject submission. This 
is all that we can expect. We have, therefore, to 
resolve to conquer or die. Our own country's honor 
calls upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and 
if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous 
to the whole world. Let us rely upon the goodness 
of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in 
whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us 
to great and noble actions, etc.^°^ 
1776] 82 [Age 44 



4 



TRUSTS IN GOD 

"A Christian Soldier" 
On July 9, 1776, General Washington issued 
the following order: 

The honorable Continental Congress having been 
pleased to allow a chaplain to each regiment, with the 
pay of thirty-three dollars and one-third per month, 
the colonels or commanding officers of each regiment 
are directed to procure chaplains accordingly, per- 
sons of good characters and exemplary lives, and to 
see that all inferior officers and soldiers pay them a 
suitable respect. The blessing and protection of 
Heaven are at all times necessary, but especially so 
in times of public distress and danger. The General 
hopes and trusts, that every officer and man will en- 
deavor so to live and act as becomes a Christian sol- 
dier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his 
country. ^^^ 

Profanity Condemned 
August 3, 1776, he issued the following order: 

That the troops may have an opportunity of 
attending public worship, as well as to take some rest 
after the great fatigue they have gone through, the 
General in future excuses them from fatigue duty on 
Sundays, except at shipyards, or on special occasions, 
until further orders. The General is sorry to be in- 
formed that the foolish and wicked practice of pro- 
fane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little 
known in an American Army, is growing into fashion; 
he hopes the officers will by example as well as in- 
Age 44] 83 [1776 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

fluence, endeavor to check it; and that both they and 
the men will reflect that we can have little hope of 
the blessing of Heaven on our arms if we insult it by 
our impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so 
mean and low, without any temptation, that every 
man of sense and character detests and despises it.^°^ 

Prayer Before Battle 
Just before the engagement on the battlefield 
of Chatterton Hill, October 28, 1776, it is said 
that in the home where he was entertained, he 
wrestled in prayer with the God of battles. 
"His loyal heart, stung with the epithet 'rebel' 
hurled at patriots, was, at the family altar, 
poured out into the language of the very 'Bible 
hero without a flaw' he is said to resemble. His 
words were those of the 22d verse of chapter 22 
of the book of Joshua: 'The Lord, God of gods, 
he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in 
rebellion, or if in transgression against the 
Lord."'io^ 



1776] 84 [Age 44 



CHAPTER VI 

WASHINGTON ATTENDS COMMUNION 
SERVICE 

(1) Army Encamped at Morristown, 
New Jersey 

"During his sojourn at Morristown, New 
Jersey, in the winter of 1777, Washington had 
been severely tried. A scourge of smallpox, the 
prevalence of other fatal diseases, the privations 
and sufferings of the soldiers, frequent desertions 
and Washington himself seriously ill with quinsy 
sore throat, when his death seemed imminent — 
these were the causes of a depression of spirit on 
the part of the Commander-in-chief, which only 
appeal (as he came at last to realize) to a higher 
than merely human power could adequately 
relieve. To that higher power, Washington, 
like many before and since, turned in his ex- 
tremity for support and consolation. 

"It was, presumably, while experiencing the 
depression of spirit consequent upon the sug- 
gested multiplicity of diflSculties confronting 
him, that the Commander-in-chief, one morning, 
after his accustomed daily inspection of camp at 
Lowantica Valley (now Spring Valley), called 

Age 45] 85 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

upon Tarson Johnes' at his home. These two 
men were no strangers to each other; neither was 
this the initial visit to the Presbyterian par- 
sonage of the Commander of the American 
army, encamped at the country seat of Morris. 
Association in the work of devising means and 
methods for the control of the smallpox and 
other diseases in the army and in the village; 
occasional, and perhaps frequent, attendance 
upon religious services conducted on Sunday by 
the beloved pastor of the only Presbyterian 
church then in Morristown; and association, 
also, in the important deliberations at the 
Presbyterian parsonage of the New Jersey 
Council of Safety, in which both Washington 
and Dr. Johnes had participated, had doubtless 
resulted in a mutual acquaintance of these two 
men, which had ripened into a friendship of no 
ordinary character." ^°^ 

(2) • Testimony of Reverend Samuel H. 
CoxE, D.D. 

It was during this time that Washington par- 
took of the communion. The story was first 
published in Dr. Hosack's Life of DeWitt Clin- 
ton in 1829, and related in the words of the' Rev. 
Samuel H. Coxe, D.D. (pastor of Laight Street 
Presbyterian Church, New York city), and 
father of the late Bishop Coxe, of the Epis- 

1777] 86 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

copal Church. Dr. Coxe received the account 
from Dr. Hilly er, who had it directly from Dr. 
Timothy Johnes: 

"It was on a morning of a week previous to the 
semiannual celebration of the Lord's Supper in 
the Presbyterian church, that Washington drove 
up to the home of Dr. Johnes. He left his hand- 
some bay horse in charge of his mounted orderly, 
and with stately but heavy tread, ascended the 
steps of the front veranda and lifted the old- 
fashioned brass knocker on the door, whose 
short,' distinct rap would gain him admis- 
sion."^o« 

"I have the following anecdote," says Dr. 
Coxe, "from unquestionable authority. It has 
never, I think, been given to the public; but I 
received it from a venerable clergyman, who had 
it from the lips of the Rev. Dr. Jones [Johnes] 
himself. To all Christians, and to all Ameri- 
cans, it cannot fail to be acceptable: 

"While the American army, under the com- 
mand of Washington, lay encamped at Morris- 
town, New Jersey [winter of 1776-7], it occurred 
that the service of the communion [then ob- 
served semiannually only] was to be adminis- 
tered in the Presbyterian church of that village. 
In a morning of the previous week the General, 
after his accustomed inspection of the camp, 

Age 45] 87 tl''"^''' 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

visited the house of the Rev. Doctor Jones 
[Johnes], then pastor of the church, and, after 
the usual preHminaries, thus accosted him: 

" 'Doctor, I understand that the Lord's Sup- 
per is to be celebrated with you next Sunday. 
I would learn if it accords with the canon of 
your church to admit communicants of another 
denomination .f^' 

"The Doctor rejoined, 'Most certainly; ours 
is not the Presbyterian table. General, but the 
Lord's table; and we hence give the Lord's invi- 
tation to all his followers, of whatever name.' 

"The General replied, T am glad of it; that 
is as it ought to be; but, as I was not quite sure 
of the fact, I thought I would ascertain it from 
yourself, as I propose to join with you on that 
occasion. Though a member of the Church of 
England, I have no exclusive partialities.' 

"The Doctor reassured him of a cordial wel- 
come, and the General was found seated with the 
communicants the next Sabbath. "^^^ 

This incident in the life of Washington shows 
his own unpressions that he was a religious man, 
entitled to the privileges of the household of 
faith. The circumstance that makes it remark- 
able is, that it was the only time during the Revo- 
lutionary War that he is certainly known'to have 
celebrated the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. 

1777] 88 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

(3) Regular Attendant at Church 
"The pulpit of the Morristown Presbyterian 
Church was occupied by Doctor Timothy Johnes, 
whose contemporaries describe him as a mild 
but eminently persuasive preacher, and as a 
most admirable pastor. Washington was a con- 
stant attendant on his preaching, both winters 
he spent in Morristown."^^^ 

"That Washington and other American offi- 
cers and soldiers occasionally attended open-air 
services, held in the orchard in the rear of the 
Presbyterian parsonage, is now too well authen- 
ticated to question. "^^2 

(4) Sacrament under an Apple Tree 
The Reverend E. C. M'Guire, an Episcopal 
clergyman of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in 1835, 
obtained some valuable information, which is 
given herewith. Mr. M'Guire married Judith, 
the daughter of Robert Lewis, Washington's 
nephew and agent, and for a time his private 
secretary, and had unusually good sources of 
information. It seems that the communion was 
held under an apple tree, and that Washington 
wrote the pastor a note instead of calling on him 
personally. Dr. M'Guire's statement follows: 
"That he partook of the communion at Mor- 
ristown, New Jersey, during the encampment of 
the army there, in 1780 [1777], has long been an 

Age 45] 89 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

accredited tradition. Some few, indeed, have 
been doubtful, but it would seem without any 
good ground. That the account as generally 
stated, is in the main correct, let the following 
communications attest. They were written in 
answer to letters requesting information on the 
point to which they refer. The high respecta- 
bility of the writers will gain for their testimony 
the utmost confidence of those who know 
them."ii3 

(5) Testimony of Mr. Asa A. Coulton 
MoRRiSTOWN, March 26, 1836. 
Rev. and Dear Sir, 

Yours was duly received, and ought perhaps to 
have been sooner answered; but I have delayed a 
little hoping to make my statements the stronger biy 
additional testimony. 

I do not learn that any living witness to the fact 
in question can be found in this vicinity, though it 
is believed there are such. I have called on Mr. 
Wm. Johnes, a son of Reverend Doctor Johnes, to 
whom you refer. By reason of his great age, he 
can say nothing upon the subject, but Mrs. Johnes, 
who is much younger, gives it as an unquestioned 
family tradition, that General Washington wrote the 
note in question, and partook of the sacrament as 
it has been commonly reported. Mrs. Johnes refers 
directly to her father-in-law, the Reverend Doctor 
Johnes. The family are still in possession of the 
orchard, and point out the very tree under which the 
1777] 90 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

sacrament was then administered, the church being 
at that time occupied as a hospital. The fact in 
question is regarded as certain by the older residents 
of the place, beyond all room for doubt. 

It is thought by some, that the Reverend Doctor 
Richards, of Auburn Theological Seminary, New 
York, is in possession of the very note, written by 
General Washington to Doctor Johnes, relative to his 
admission to the communion. 

Respectfully, Sir, I am truly yours, 

Asa S. CouLTON.^^* 

(6) Testimony of Rev. James Richards, D.D. 
The following letter is from Dr. Richards, the 
gentleman referred to in the foregoing letter: 

Auburn, 14th of April, 1836. 

Dear Sir, 

Yours of the 5th has just been received. I can 
only say in reply, that I never saw the note to which 
you allude, — but have no doubt that such a note was 
addressed by Washington to Doctor Johnes, of 
Morristown, on the occasion to which you refer. I 
became a resident in that town in the summer of 
1794, while Doctor Johnes was still living — and was 
afterwards the regular pastor of that congregation 
for about fourteen years. The report that Wash- 
ington did actually receive the communion from the 
hands of Doctor Johnes, was universally current 
during that period, and so far as I know, never con- 
tradicted. I have often heard it from the members 
of Doctor Johnes' family, while they added that a 
Age 45] 91 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

note was addressed by Washin^on to their father, 
requesting the privilege, and stating that though con- 
nected with the Episcopal Church, he felt a freedom 
and desire to commune with those of another name, 
if acceptable to them. Very often, too, have I 
heard this circumstance spoken of as evidence of 
that great man's liberality, as well as piety. 

There were hundreds at Morristown during the 
time of which I speak, who might, if the fact of Wash- 
ington's receiving the communion there be true, 
have witnessed that fact — and who would not be 
slow to contradict it, on the supposition that it had 
not been witnessed by them or their friends. It is 
barely possible, that such a report might be put in 
circulation through error or mistake, and afterwards 
gain credit by time; but in my judgment in no degree 
probable, when all the circumstances of the case are 
duly considered. The family of Doctor Johnes, sons 
and daughters, were of mature age, and some of them 
active members of society, when this note is said to 
have been written, and the fact to which it related 
took place. It is scarcely possible that they should 
have been deceived ; and their characters are too well 
known to suppose them willing to deceive others. 
Very respectfully yours, 

James Richards. ^^^ 

(7) The Lord's Supper 
"It is the Sabbath. The congregation are as- 
sembled in an orchard, in a natural basin which 
Providence had made for them, to pay their 

1777] 9^ [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

homage to the Most High, and to commemorate 
the love of the Redeemer, even in the winter. 
Among their number is the commander-in-chief 
of the American army. With a willing and de- 
vout spirit he unites with the people of God in 
the ordinances of religion. After a solemn ser- 
mon from a venerable minister, a hymn is sung, 
and the invitation given to the members of 
sister churches to unite in the celebration of the 
Lord's Supper. A well-known military form 
rises in response to the invitation. With solemn 
dignity and Christian meekness he takes his 
seat with Christ's people and partakes of the 
bread and wine. It is Washington at the com- 
munion table. "^^^ 

(8) Testimony of Rev. O. L. Kirtland 
The following letter of the Rev. O. L. Kirt- 
land, who came to Morristown in 1837, pastor 
of the Second Presbyterian Church at Morris- 
town, who married into the family of the Rev. 
Dr. Johnes, was written to the editor of the 
Presbyterian Magazine in 1851. 

Rev. and Dear Brother: 

The father of Mrs. Kirtland was the son of the 
Reverend Doctor Timothy Johnes — lived with him, 
and took care of him in his old age, and till his death 
— remained in the homestead of his father, and died 
there in his 83rd year, November, 1836. Mrs. Kirt- 
Age 45] 93 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

land was born in the same house, and never had her 
home elsewhere till a short time since. She recollects 
very distinctly that she was accustomed to hear her 
father apeak of the fact that the religious services of 
the congregation were conducted in the orchard, in the 
rear of the house, whilst Washington was here during 
the Revolutionary War. This was one of the famil- 
iar facts often repeated during her early years. She 
has no doubt that a part of the familiar subject of the 
conversation of her father with the family, and with 
visitors, was, that the communion which General 
Washington attended was held in the orchard. 

In the orchard there is a natural basin several feet 
deep, and a few rods in diameter. The basin was 
formerly considerably deeper than at present, having 
been partly filled in the process of tilling ever since 
the Revolution. Mrs. Kirtland recollects that her 
father used to say, that when the people assembled 
for worship, they occupied the bottom of that basin 
for their place of meeting. The minister stood on 
one side of the basin, so as to be elevated above his 
congregation. The whole field inclines towards the 
morning and mid-day sun. The rising grounds in 
the rear would, to a great extent, shield the congre- 
gation from the usuaj winds of winter. Indeed, the 
basin was formerly so deep, that the wind from any 
direction would mainly pass over them. 

A brother of Mrs. Kirtland, several years older 
than herself, and other members of the family, tell 
me that their recollections are distinct, and in har- 
mony with hers, touching the meetings in the orchard, 
1777] 94, [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

the communion, and the presence of Washington 
there. 

John B. Johnes, M.D., now Hving in this place 
[1851], and over sixty years of age, grandson of the 
old minister, and cousin of Mrs. Kirtland, recollects 
it as the familiar talk of his father, and also of his 
uncle, Mrs. Kirtland's father, that the religious ser- 
vices, whilst Washington was here, were in that 
orchard. ^^^ 

(9) Testimony of Charlotte Morrell 
Brackett 

Here is an extract from a letter written May 
19, 1902, by Charlotte Morrell Brackett, a great- 
great-granddaughter of Doctor Johnes: 

"It is not a matter of tradition only, but of 
pure authentic history — in fact, a part of the 
history of the First Presbyterian Church of 
Morristown — as it was the first pastor of the 
church, the Reverend Doctor Timothy Johnes 
(my great-great-grandfather), who administered 
the rite to Washington. ... To me it has al- 
ways been a matter of family history."^^^ 

(10) Why Service in Open Air 

"There was a vast amount of sickness and 

suffering in the army; the smallpox prevailed 

fearfully, the Presbyterian and Baptist churches, 

and courthouse, were occupied as hospitals — 

Age 45] 95 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the father of Mrs. Kirtland having, the latter 
part of the time, the supervision of the hospitals 
— so that there was no place for the meeting of 
the congregation, except in the open air."^^^ 

In commemoration of this event the spot has 
been marked by a sundial, placed there by the 
Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Remained Standing During Service 
The Rev. O. L. Kirtland, in his letter to the 
editor of the Presbyterian Magazine, also men- 
tions the following interesting incident: "Mrs. 
Scofield, wife of one of our lawyers, and grand- 
daughter of a Mrs. Ford,^-^ whose name has 
been handed down to us fragrant with piety, 
informs me that her grandmother used to tell 
her about attending the meetings in the orchard. 
On one occasion, when the old lady was present, 
Washington was there sitting in his camp chair, 
brought in for the occasion. During the service, 
a woman came into the congregation with a 
child in her arms; Washington arose from his 
chair and gave it to the woman with the child. "^-^ 
A writer in 1833 says that all the seats were 
occupied, and Washington remained standing 
throughout the whole service. 

Withdraws from Communion Service 
The circumstance of his withdrawing him- 

1777] 9(3 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

self from the communion service at a certain 
period of his hfe has been remarked as singular. 
This may be admitted, and regretted, both on 
account of his example, and the value of his 
opinion as to the importance and practical ten- 
dency of this rite. It does not follow, however, 
that he was an unbeliever, unless the same 
charge is proved to rest against the numerous 
class of persons, who believe themselves to be 
sincere Christians, but who have scruples in 
regard to the ordinance of the communion. 
Whatever his motives may have been, it does 
not appear that they were ever explained. Nor 
is it known, or to be presumed, that any occasion 
offered. It is probable that, after he took com- 
mand of the army, finding his thoughts and 
attention necessarily engrossed by the business 
that devolved upon him, in which frequently 
little distinction could be observed between the 
Sabbath and other days, he may have believed 
it improper publicly to partake of an ordinance 
which, according to the ideas he entertained of 
it, imposed severe restrictions on outward con- 
duct, and a sacred pledge to perform duties 
impracticable in his situation. Such an im- 
pression would be natural to a serious mind; 
and, although it might be an erroneous view 
of the nature of the ordinance, it would not 
have the less weight with a man of a deli- 
Age 45] 9Y [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

cate conscience and habitual reverence for 
religion. ^22 

Because he was so regular and devoted in his 
Christian life and habits of devotion, "it was the 
more noticeable that he ceased to be a regular 
communicant as long as the war lasted. Wash- 
ington always had his reasons for what he did, or 
left undone; but he seldom gave them; and his 
^ motive for abstaining from the sacrament was 
not a subject on which he would be inclined to 
break his ordinary rule of reticence. "^^^ His 
partaking of the communion at Morristown 
throws some light upon his inward convictions. 

Vice and Immorality Discouraged 
In a circular to the brigadier-generals, dated 
May 26, 1777, are the following instructions: 

Let vice and immorality of every kind be dis- 
couraged as much as possible in your brigade; and, 
as a chaplain is allowed to each regiment, see that 
the men regularly attend divine worship. Gaming 
of every kind is expressly forbidden, as being the 
foundation of evil, and the cause of many a brave 
and gallant officer's ruin. Games of exercise for 
amusement may not only be permitted but en- 
couraged. ^^^ 

Mark of Providence 
In writing to General Armstrong, from Mor- 
ristown, New Jersey, July 4, 1777, he says: 

17771 98 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

The evacuation of Jersey [by the British troops] at 
this time is a peculiar mark of Providence, as the 
inhabitants have an opportunity of securing their 
harvests of hay and grain, the latter of which would, 
in all probability, have undergone the same fate with 
many farmhouses, had it been ripe enough to take 
fire. The distress of many of the inhabitants, who 
were plundered not only of their effects but of their 
provision of every kind, was such, that I sent down 
several wagon-loads of meat and flour to supply 
their present wants. ^^^ 

The reader will observe in this extract striking 
proof of the writer's unqualified faith in the im- 
mediate and particular agency of the Almighty 
in the affairs of men. By this agency, a plun- 
dering army had been forced to leave the agri- 
cultural districts of the country at a period the 
most critical to the farmer. It was near the 
season of harvest when they evacuated the 
State, but the grain was in too green a state to 
be burnt. But for this the dependence for 
bread in that region would have been cut off. 
This interposition was indeed "a peculiar mark 
of Providence," and the reverential notice of it 
a commendable instance of devout feeling. ^^^ 

Divine Service Not to Be Omitted 

October 7, 1777, Washington issued the fol- 
lowing order: 

Age 45] 99 [1777 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

The situation of the army frequently not admitting 
of the regular performance of divine service on Sun- 
days, the chaplains of the army are forthwith to meet 
together and agree on some method of performing it 
at other times, which method they will make known 
to the Commander-in-chief.^^^ 

Signal Stroke of Providence 
To his brother John A. Washington, he writes, 
October 18, 1777, announcing the capitulation of 
Burgoyne's army at Saratoga, in which he says, 
"I most devoutly congratulate my country, and 
every well-wisher to the cause, on this signal 
stroke of Providence. "^^^ 

Sympathy for General Putnam 
He sent a letter to Major-General Putnam 
Sunday, October 19, 1777, in which he says: 

The defeat of General Burgoyne is a most important 
event, and such as must afford the highest satisfac- 
tion to every well-affected American. Should Provi- 
dence be pleased to crown our arms in the course of 
the campaign with one more fortunate stroke, I 
think we shall have no great cause for anxiety re- 
specting the future designs of Britain. I trust all 
will be well in His good time. . . 

The letter closes with a word of sympathy: 
I am exceedingly sorry for the death of Mrs. Put- 
man, and sympathize with you upon the occasion. 
Remembering that all must die, and that she had 
lived to an honorable age, I hope you will bear the 
1777] 100 [Age 45 



ATTENDS COMMUNION SERVICE 

misfortune with that fortitude and complacency of 
mind that become a man and a Christian. ^^^ 

Superintending Providence 
In a letter to Landon Carter, of Sabine Hall, 
Richmond county, Virginia, October 27, 1777, 
he says : 

I have this instant received an account of the 
prisoners taken by the northern army (including 
tories in arms against us) in the course of the cam- 
paign. This singular instance of Providence, and 
of our good fortune under it, exhibits a striking 
proof of the advantages which result from unanimity 
and a spirited conduct in the militia. ... I flatter 
myself that a superintending Providence is ordering 
everything for the best, and that, in due time, all 
will end well.^^° 

Thanksgiving and Praise 
He issued the following order on December 17, 
1777, near Valley Forge: 

To-morrow being the day set apart by the honor- 
able Congress for public thanksgiving and praise, 
and duty calling us devoutly to express our grateful 
acknowledgments to God for the manifold blessings 
he has granted us, the General directs that the army 
remain in its present quarters, and that chaplains 
perform divine service with their several corps and 
brigades; and earnestly exhorts all officers and sol- 
diers, whose absence is not indispensably necessary, 
to attend with reverence the solemnities of the day.^^^ 

Age 45] 101 [1777 



CHAPTER VII 

PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

(1) Reverend Mason L. Weems' Account 
In the winter of 1777-78, while Washington, 
with the American army, was encamped at 
Valley Forge, amidst all the perplexities and 
troubles and sufferings, the Commander-in-chief 
sought for direction and comfort from God. 
He was frequently observed to visit a secluded 
grove. One day a Tory Quaker by the name of 
Isaac Potts "had occasion to pass through the 
woods near headquarters. Treading in his way 
along the venerable grove, suddenly he heard 
the sound of a human voice, which, as he ad- 
vanced, increased in his ear; and at length 
became like the voice of one speaking much in 
earnest. As he approached the spot with a 
cautious step, whom should he behold, in a dark 
natural bower of ancient oaks, but the Com- 
mander-in-chief of the American armies on his 
knees at prayer! Motionless with surprise. 
Friend Potts continued on the place till the 
general, having ended his devotions, arose, and, 
with a countenance of angelic serenity, retired 
to headquarters. 

1778] 102 [Age 46 




WASHINGTON'S PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

Friend Potts then went home, and on entering 
his parlor called out to his wife, "Sarah! my 
dear Sarah! All's well! all's 'well! George Wash- 
ington will yet prevail." 

"What's the matter, Isaac?" replied she; "thee 
seems moved." 

"Well, if I seem moved, 'tis no more than 
what I really am. I have this day seen what I 
never expected. Thee knows that I always 
thought that the sword and the gospel were 
utterly inconsistent; and that no man could be 
a soldier and a Christian at the same time. But 
George Washington has this day convinced me 
of my mistake." 

He then related what he had seen, and con- 
cluded with this prophetical remark! "If George 
Washington be not a man of God, I am greatly 
deceived — and still more shall I be deceived, if 
God do not, through him, work out a great sal- 
vation for America. "^^^ 

(2) Benson J. Lossing's Account 
Isaac Potts, at whose house Washington was 
quartered, relates that one day, while the Ameri- 
cans were encamped at Valley Forge, he strolled 
up the creek, when, not far from his den, he 
heard a solemn voice. He walked quietly in 
the direction of it, and saw Washington's horse 
tied to a sapling. In a thicket near by was the 

Age 46] 103 [1778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

beloved chief upon his knees in prayer, his 
cheeks suffused with tears. Like Moses at the 
bush, Isaac felt the he was upon holy ground, 
and withdrew unobserved. He was much agi- 
tated, and, on entering the room where his wife 
was, he burst into tears. On her inquiring the 
cause, he informed her of what he had seen, and 
added, "If there is anyone on this earth whom 
the Lord will listen to, it is George Washington; 
and I feel a presentiment that under such a com- 
mander there can be no doubt of our eventually 
establishing our independence, and that God in 
his providence has willed it so."^^^ 

(3) Testimony of Devault Beaver 
Extract of a letter from a Baptist minister to 
the editor of the (Boston) Christian Watchman, 
dated Baltimore, January 13, 1832: 

"The meetinghouse (which is built of stone) 
belonging to the church just alluded to is in 
sight of the spot on which the American army, 
under the command of General Washington, 
was encamped during a most severe winter. 
This, you know, was then called 'Valley Forge.' 
It is affecting to hear the old people narrate 
the sufferings of the army, when the soldiers were 
frequently tracked by the blood from the sore 
and bare feet, lacerated by the rough and frozen 
roads over which they were obliged to pass. 

1778] 104 [Age 46 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

"You will recollect that a most interesting 
incident, in relation to the life of the great 
American commander-in-chief, has been related 
as follows: That while stationed here with the 
army he was frequently observed to visit a 
secluded grove. This excited the curiosity of a 
Mr. Potts, of the denomination of 'Friends' who 
watched his movements at one of these seasons 
of retirement, till he perceived that he was on his 
knees and engaged in 'prayer. Mr. Potts then 
returned, and said to his family, 'Our cause is 
lost' (he was with the Tories), assigning his 
reasons for this opinion. There is a man by the 
name of Devault Beaver, now living on this spot 
(and is eighty years of age), who says he has 
this statement from Mr. Potts and his family. 

"I had before heard this interesting anecdote 
in the life of our venerated Washington, but had 
some misgivings about it, all of which are now 
fully removed."^^^ 

(4) Testimony of Doctor Snowden 
The following note was written to the Rev. 
T. W. J. Wylie, D.D., pastor of the First Re- 
formed Presbyterian Church, of Philadelphia, 
February 28, 1862: 

My Dear Sir — Referring to your request, I have 
to say that I cannot lay my hands at present upon 
my father's papers. I recollect that among his 

Age 46] 105 tl778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

manuscript **Reminiscences," was a statement of his 
interview with Mr. Potts, a Friend, near Valley 
Forge, who pointed out to him the spot where he 
saw General Washington at prayer in the winter of 
1777. This event induced Friend Potts to become a 
Whig; and he told his wife Betty, that the cause of 
America was a good cause, and would prevail, and 
that they must now support it. Mr. Weems, in his 
"Life of Washington," mentions this incident a little 
differently; but my father had it from Mr. Potts per- 
sonally, and the statement herein made may there- 
fore be relied on as accurate. 
I am, with great regard. 

Yours truly, 
James Ross Snowden. 

Dr. Wylie says, "We have heard the incident 
just related from the lips of the late Dr. N. R. 
Snowden, who was informed of it by the person 
himself."i35 

(5) General Knox a Witness 
It may be added that besides the individual 
named above as having witnessed the private 
devotions of General Washington at Valley 
Forge, it is known that General Knox also was 
an accidental witness of the same, and was fully 
apprised that sprayer was the object of the Com- 
mander's frequent visits to the grove. This 
officer was especially devoted to the person of 
the Commander-in-chief, and had very free and 
1778] 106 t^g^ ^^ 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

familiar access to him, which may in some meas- 
ure account for his particular knowledge of his 
habits. 

That an adjacent wood should have been 
selected as his private oratory, while regularly 
encamped for the winter, may excite the inquiry 
of some. The cause may possibly be found in 
the fact that, in common with the officers and 
soldiers of the army, he lodged during that win- 
ter in a log hut, which, from the presence of Mrs. 
Washington, and perhaps other inmates, and the 
fewness of the apartments, did not admit of that 
privacy proper for such a duty.^^^ 

(6) Independence Born of Prayer 
"Few scenes have had so much moral grandeur 
in them as this. Repeated disaster and defeat 
had disappointed the army and the nation. 
Suffering, to an extreme degree, was in the 
camp, and thousands of brave men were without 
the necessities of life. The independence of the 
nation was in jeopardy. Attempts were made 
to stab the reputation of the commander, and to 
degrade him from office. Provision for the army 
was to be made, murmurs and discontents sup- 
pressed, calumny to be met, plans formed for a 
future campaign, the nation to be inspirited and 
aroused; an active enemy was in the neighbor- 
hood, flushed with recent victory, and preparing 

Age 46] 107 [1778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

to achieve new triumphs; and in these circum- 
stances the Father of his Country went alone 
and sought strength and guidance from the God 
of armies and light. The ear of Heaven was pro- 
pitious to his prayer; and who can tell how much 
of the subsequent brilliant success of the Ameri- 
can armies was in answer to the prayers of the 
American general at Valley Forge? To latest 
times it will and should be a subject of the deep- 
est interest that the independence of our country 
was laid, not only in valor and patriotism and 
wisdom, but in prayer. The example of Wash- 
ington will rebuke the warrior or the statesman 
who never supplicates the blessing of God on his 
country. It will be encouragement for him who 
prays for its welfare and its deliverance from 
danger. "^^^ 

"Example of Christian Charity" 
Whileen camped at Valley Forge one day a 
Tory who was well known in the neighborhood 
was captured and brought into camp. His 
name was Michael Wittman, and he was ac- 
cused of having carried aid and information to 
the British in Philadelphia. He was taken to 
West Chester and there tried by court-martial. 
It was proved that he was a very dangerous man 
and that he had more than once attempted to 
do great harm to the American army. He was 

1778] 108 [Age 46 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

pronounced guilty of being a spy and sentenced 
to be hanged. 

On the evening of the day before that set for 
the execution, a strange old man appeared at 
Valley Forge. He was a small man with long, 
snow-white hair falling over his shoulders. His 
face, although full of kindliness, was sad-looking 
and thoughtful; his eyes, which were bright and 
sharp, were upon the ground and lifted only 
when he was speaking. . . . 

His name was announced. 

"Peter Miller?" said Washington. "Certainly. 
Show him in at once." 

"General VS^ashington, I have come to ask a 
great favor of you," he said, in his usual kindly 
tones. 

"I shall be glad to grant you almost any- 
thing," said Washington, "for we surely are in- 
debted to you for many favors. Tell me what 
it is." 

"I hear," said Peter, "that Michael Wittman 
has been found guilty of treason and that he is to 
be hanged at Turk's Head to-morrow. I have 
come to ask you to pardon him." 

Washington started back, and a cloud came 
over his face. 

"That is impossible," he said. "Wittman 
is a bad man. He has done all in his power 
to betray us. He has even offered to join 

Age 46] 109 11778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the British and aid in destroying us. In these 
times we dare not be lenient with traitors; 
and for that reason I cannot pardon your 
friend." 

"Friend!" cried Peter. "Why, he is no friend 
of mine. He is my bitterest enemy. He has 
persecuted me for years. He has even beaten 
me and spit in my face, knowing full well that I 
would not strike back. Michael Wittman is no 
friend of mine." 

Washington was puzzled. "And still you 
wish me to pardon him?" he asked. 

"I do," answered Peter. "I ask it of you as 
a great personal favor." 

"Tell me," said Washington, with hesitating 
voice, "why is it that you thus ask the pardon 
of your worst enemy?" 

"I ask it because Jesus did as much for me," 
was the old man's brief answer. 

Washington turned away and went into an- 
other room. Soon he returned with a paper on 
which was written the pardon of Michael Witt- 
man. 

"My dear friend," he said, as he placed it in 
the old man's hands, "I thank you for this ex- 
ample of Christian charity. "^^^ 

Acknowledges Receipt of Sermon 
On March 13, 1778, he writes from Valley 

17781 110 [Age 46 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

Forge to the Reverend Israel Evans, acknowl- 
edging the receipt of his sermon, as follows : 

Your favor of the 17th ultimo, enclosing the Dis- 
course which you delivered on the 18th of December, 
the day set apart for a general thanksgiving, never 
came to my hands till yesterday. I have read this 
performance with equal attention and pleasure; and 
at the same time that I admire and feel the force of 
your reasoning which you have displayed through 
the whole, it is more especially incumbent upon me 
to thank you for the honorable but partial mention 
you have made of my character, and to assure you 
that it will ever be the first wish of my heart to aid 
your pious endeavors to inculcate a due sense of the 
dependence we ought to place in the all-wise and 
powerful Being, on whom alone our success de- 
pends. ^^^ 

Fasting 
An order issued at Headquarters, Valley Forge, 
April 12, 1778, includes the following directions 
for a day of fasting and prayer: 

The Honorable the Congress having thought prop- 
er to recommend to the United States of America to 
set apart Wednesday, the 22nd inst., to be observed 
as a day of Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer, that at 
one time, and with one voice, the righteous dispen- 
sations of Providence may be acknowledged, and His 
goodness and mercy towards our arms supplicated 
and implored: 
Age 461 111 [1778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

The General directs that the day shall be most re- 
ligiously observed in the Army; that no work shall 
be done thereon, and that the several chaplains do 
prepare discourses suitable to the occasion. ^''° 

Christian Above Patriot 

The following order was issued at Headquar- 
ters, Valley Forge, May 2, 1778: 

The Commander-in-chief directs that Divine serv- 
ice be performed every Sunday at 11 o'clock, in each 
Brigade which has a Chaplain. Those Brigades 
which have none will attend the places of worship 
nearest to them. — It is expected that officers of all 
ranks will, by their attendance, set an example for 
their men. While we are duly performing the duty 
of good soldiers we certainly ought not to be inat- 
tentive to the higher duties of religion. To the dis- 
tinguished character of a Patriot it should be our 
highest glory to add the more distinguished character 
of a Christian. 

The signal instances of Providential goodness 
which we have experienced, and which have almost 
crowned our arms with complete success, demand 
from us, in a peculiar manner, the warmest returns of 
gratitude and piety to the Supreme Author of all 
Good.i^i 

Thanksgiving Ordered 

An order issued at Valley Forge, May 5, 1778, 
begins as follows: 

1778] 112 [Age 46 



PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE 

It having pleased the Almighty Ruler of the Uni- 
verse propitiously to defend the cause of the United 
American States, and finally by raising us up a pow- 
erful friend among the Princes of the earth, to es- 
tablish our Liberty and Independence upon a lasting 
foundation; it becomes us to set apart a day for 
gratefully acknowledging the Divine Goodness, and 
celebrating the event, which we owe to His benign 
interposition. The several brigades are to be as- 
sembled at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, when 
their Chaplains will communicate the intelligence 
contained in the Postscript of the Gazette of 2nd 
inst., and offer up a thanksgiving, and deliver a dis- 
course suitable to the occasion. ^"^^ 

"Washington, with his lady, and suite, Lord 
Stirling and his lady, with other general oflficers 
and ladies, attended the religious services of 
the Jersey brigade, when the Rev. Mr. Hunter 
delivered a discourse. "^^^ 

Recognizes Protection of Providence 
In a letter to Landon Carter, written from 
Valley Forge, May 30, 1778, he says: 

My friends, therefore, may believe me sincere in 
my professions of attachment to them, whilst Provi- 
dence has a just claim to my humble and grateful 
thanks for its protection and direction of me through 
the many diflScult and intricate scenes which this 
contest has produced; and for its constant interposi- 
Age 46] 113 [1778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

tion in our behalf, when the clouds were heaviest and 
seemed ready to burst upon us. 

To paint the distresses and perilous situation of 
this army in the course of last winter, for want of 
clothes, provisions, and almost every other necessary 
essential to the well-being, I may say existence, of 
an army, would require more time and an abler pen 
than mine; nor, since our prospects have so miracu- 
lously brightened, shall I attempt it, or even bear 
it in remembrance, further than as a memento of 
what is due to the great Author of all the care and 
good that have been extended in relieving us in dif- 
ficulties and distresses. ^'*^ 



1778] 114 [Age 46 



CHAPTER VIII 

WASHINGTON NOT PROFANE 

(1) Battle of Monmouth 
An effort has been made by some, holding in- 
fidel views, to bring down Washington to the 
common level of other men, by conveying the 
impression that he was in the habit of swearing. 
He was a man of strong passions, we will allow 
(and few very great men have been otherwise), 
but they were wonderfully regulated and con- 
trolled by religious principle. Two occasions 
have been named, when, it is asserted by some, 
Washington used profane language. One was 
at the battle of Monmouth and the other was 
when he received the news of St. Clair's defeat 
by the Indians. Concerning the incident at 
Monmouth, the following testimony seems con- 
clusive: 

(2) Personal Witnesses 
The following interesting communication from 

General Joseph G. Swift, of Geneva, New York, 

will be read with interest: 

"I had long ago heard of Washington's using 

harsh language to Lee at Monmouth (June 28, 

Age 461 115 11778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

1778) ; and having, in 1804, a letter of introduc- 
tion to General Marshall, at Richmond, I in- 
quired as to the facts. The general said that 
the story of coarse language between Wash- 
ington and Lee was not true. General Marshall 
was captain on the field of Monmouth, and near 
Washington. He stated that Lee's language 
was decorous, and that W^ashington's manner and 
language was austere, but not profane. In the 
year 1803, I was in Albany with my then chief. 
Colonel Williams, and there heard General Alex- 
ander Hamilton say to General Schuyler and 
Colonel Williams that the story of General 
Washington's profanity at Fort Lee, on a visit of 
inspection, was not true. Washington was dis- 
appointed at not finding the commandant at 
his post, and expressed his displeasure in strong 
language but not with an oath. Wliile a member 
of General Thomas Pinckney's military family 
in South Carolina, 1812, I heard his brother. 
General C. C. Pinckney, frequently mention 
conversations with General Washington. He 
said that he was habitually grave in discourse, 
cautious in expression, slow and accurate in 
judgment, but with intimate friends, easy, 
though rarely jocose. Now, General C. C. 
Pinckney was remarkable for facetiousness and 
humor, and at the table of his brother was fond 
of conversing with young men; neither of these 

1778] 116 [Age 46 



WASHINGTON NOT PROFANE 

brothers believed the story of Washington's 
swearing at Lee. At the meeting of Washington 
and Lee, the language of the former might be 
more to undo the evil then in progress, than to 
expend words on Lee. It is fair to conclude 
that Washington's mind, so well known for 
coolness in battle, would be far more engaged 
in restoring the order of the day in pursuit of 
the enemy, than in applying epithets to Lee."^^^ 

(3) Testimony at the Court-Martial 
The scenes and events of that day were the 
subject of a prolonged and very critical investi- 
gation while the actors in them were still within 
reach and, as it were, fresh from the field. 
General Lee's trial by a general court-martial, 
beginning on the 4th of July, six days after the 
battle, ended on the 12th of August, with his 
suspension from any command in the armies of 
the United States of North America, for the 
term of twelve months. The statements of 
General Washington and General Lee in the cor- 
respondence which led to the court-martial, the 
sworn testimony of the witnesses upon the trial, 
and the defense of General Lee himself, furnish 
conclusive evidence of the utter falsehood of 
these pretended traditions which have gained 
entrance where they ought never to have been 
received for a moment. ^'^^ 

Age 46] 117 [1778 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

(4) Statement of General Scott 
General Charles Scott had a most inveterate 
habit of swearing; whether in private or public 
society, on his farm, or the field of battle, every 
other word was an oath. On the night preceding 
the battle of Princeton, Scott received an order 
from the Commander-in-chief in person to defend 
a bridge to the last extremity. "To the last man, 
your excellency," replied Scott; and, forgetting 
the presence of the chief, accompanied the 
words with tremendous oaths. The general, as 
may be well supposed, had but little time, on 
that eventful evening, to notice or chide this 
want of decorum in his brave and well-tried 
soldier. After the war, a friend of the gallant 
general, anxious to reform his evil habits, asked 
him whether it was possible that the man so 
much beloved, the admired Washington, ever 
swore.'' Scott reflected for a moment, and then 
exclaimed, "Yes, once. It was at Monmouth, 
and on a day that would have made any man 
swear. Yes, sir, he swore on that day, till the 
leaves shook on the trees, charming, delightful. 
Never have I enjoyed such swearing before, or 
since. Sir, on that ever memorable day he 
swore like an angel from heaven. "^^^ 

It is more than likely that the profane general 
fully recognized the vast difference between his 
own language and that of the high-minded 

1778] 113 [Age 46 



WASHINGTON NOT PROFANE 

Washington. Hence, he likens him to an 
"angel," saying, "He swore like an angel from 
heaven." As much as to say, the provocation 
was "enough to make an angel swear, but Wash- ^' 
ington swore no more than an angel from 
heaven." How would an angel from heaven 
swear.f^ General Scott really paid the great 
Washington the highest compliment and in a 
very delicate manner denied the accusation of 
profanity. 

Never-Failing Providence 
In a letter to John Augustine Washington, 
July 4, 1778, telling of the battle of Monmouth 
and General Lee's retreat, he says: 

The disorder arising from it [the retreat] would 
have proved fatal to the army had not that bounti- 
ful Providence, which has never failed us in the hour 
of distress, enabled me to form a regiment or two 
[of those that were retreating] in the face of the 
enemy and under their fires. ^^^ 

Worse Than an Infidel 
In a letter to Brigadier-General Nelson, of 
Virginia, written from White Plains, New York, 
August 20, 1778, he says: 

The hand of Providence has been conspicuous in 
all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that 
lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not 
Age 46] 119 [l'^78 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

gratitude enough to acknowledge his obhgations. 
But it will be time enough for me to turn preacher 
when my present appointment ceases; and there- 
fore I shall add no more on the doctrine of Provi- 
dence.^^^ 

Morals Irreproachable 
In a letter from "a gentleman of Maryland" 
to a friend in Europe, written May 3, 1779, is 
the following: 

"He is strictly just, vigilant, and generous; an 
affectionate husband, a faithful friend, a father 
to the deserving soldiers; gentle in manners, in 
temper rather reserved; a total stranger to re- 
ligious prejudices, which have so often excited 
Christians of one denomination to cut the 
throats of those of another; in his morals irre- 
proachable; he was never known to exceed the 
bounds of the most rigid temperance. "^^° 

Character Sketch 
In a sketch written in 1779, "by an American 
Gentleman now in London, who is well ac- 
quainted with him," we find the following: 

"He punishes neglect of duty with great se- 
verity, but is very tender and indulgent to re- 
cruits until they learn the articles of war and 
their exercises perfectly." 

"He regularly attends divine service in his 

1779] 120 [Age 47 



WASHINGTON NOT PROFANE 

tent every morning and evening, and seems very 
fervent in his prayers." 

"He is so tender-hearted that no soldiers must 
be flogged nigh his tent; or if he is walking in the 
camp and sees a man tied to the halberds, he will 
either order him to be taken down or walk 
another way to avoid the sight." 

"He is humane to the prisoners who fall into 
his hands, and orders everything necessary for 
their relief."i^i 



Age 47] 121 [1779 



CHAPTER IX 

GENERAL WASHINGTON A MAN OF 
PRAYER 

(1) At a Farmer's House 
The Rev. E. C. M'Guire, often quoted in this 
volume, relates an additional example of Wash- 
ington engaged in prayer as occurring during 
the war, which, he says, was taken from a 
respectable literary journal published in New 
York. It is here inserted as having in its promi- 
nent points all the appearance of truth: 

"One pleasant evening in the month of June, 
in the year 1779 (?), a man was observed enter- 
ing the borders of a wood, near the Hudson 
River, his appearance that of a person above 
the common rank. The inhabitants of a coun- 
try village would have dignified him with the 
title of squire, and from his manner, have pro- 
nounced him proud; but those more accus- 
tomed to society would inform you, there was 
something like a military air about him. His 
horse panted as if it had been hard pushed for 
some miles, yet from the owner's frequent stops 
to caress the patient animal, he could not be 
charged with want of humanity, but seemed to 

1779] 122 [Age 47 



A MAN OF PRAYER 

be actuated by some urgent necessity. The 
rider's forsaking a good road for the bypath 
leading through the woods indicated a desire to 
avoid the gaze of other travelers. He had not 
left the house where he inquired the direction of 
the above mentioned path more than two hours 
before the quietude of the place was broken by 
the noise of distant thunder. He was soon after 
obliged to dismount, traveling becoming danger- 
ous, as darkness concealed surrounding objects, 
except when the lightning's terrific flash afforded 
a momentary view of his situation. A peal 
louder and of longer duration than any of the 
preceding, which now burst over his head, seem- 
ing as if it would rend the woods asunder, was 
quickly followed by a heavy fall of rain, which 
penetrated the clothing of the stranger ere he 
could obtain the shelter of a large oak, which 
stood at a little distance. 

"Almost exhausted with the labors of the 
day, he was about making such disposition of 
the saddle and his own coat, as would enable 
him to pass the night with what comfort cir- 
cumstances would admit, when he espied a light 
glimmering through the trees. Animated with 
the hope of better lodgings, he determined to 
proceed. The way, which was somewhat steep, 
became attended with more obstacles the farther 
he advanced, the soil being composed of clay, 

Age 471 123 [1779 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

which the rain had rendered so soft that his feet 
sHpped at every step. By the utmost perse- 
verance, this difficulty was finally overcome 
without any accident, and he had the pleasure 
of finding himself in front of a decent looking 
farmhouse. The watchdog began barking, which 
brought the owner of the mansion to the door. 

" 'Who is there.?' said he. 

" *A friend who has lost his way, and in search 
of a place of shelter,' was the answer. 

" 'Come in, sir,' added the first speaker, 'and 
whatever my house will afford, you shall have 
with welcome.' 

" 'I must first provide for the weary com- 
panion of my journey,' remarked the other. 

"But the former undertook the task, and after 
conducting the newcomer into a room where his 
wife was seated, he led the horse to a well- 
stored barn, and there provided for him most 
bountifully. On rejoining the traveler, he ob- 
served, 'that is a noble animal of yours, sir.' 

" 'Yes,' was the reply, 'and I am sorry that I 
was obliged to misuse him so, as to make it nec- 
essary to give you much trouble with the care 
of him; but I have yet to thank you for your 
kindness to both of us.' 

" 'I did no more than my duty, sir,' said the 
entertainer, 'and therefore I am entitled to no 
thanks. But Susan,' added he, turning to the 

1779] 124 [Age 47 



A MAN OF PRAYER 

hostess, with a half-reproachful look, 'why have 
you not given the gentleman something to eat?' 

"Fear had prevented the good woman from 
exercising her well-known benevolence, for a 
robbery had been committed by a lawless band 
of depredators but a few days before, in that 
neighborhood, and as report stated that the ruf- 
fians were all well dressed, her imagination sug- 
gested that this man might be one of them. 

"At her husband's remonstrance, she now 
readily engaged in repairing her error, by pre- 
paring a plentiful repast. During the meal, 
there was much interesting conversation among 
the three. As soon as the worthy countryman 
perceived that his guest had satisfied his appetite 
he informed him that it was now the hour at 
which the family usually performed their even- 
ing devotions, inviting him at the same time to 
be present. The invitation was accepted in 
these words : 

" 'It would afford me the greatest pleasure to 
commune with my heavenly Preserver, after the 
events of the day; such exercises prepare us for 
the repose we seek in sleep.' 

"The host now reached his Bible from the 
shelf, and after reading a chapter and singing, 
concluded the whole with a fervent prayer; then 
lighting a pine-knot, conducted the person he 
had entertained to his chamber, wished him a 

Age 47] 125 [1779 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

good night's rest, and retired to the adjoining 
apartment. 

" *John,' whispered the woman, *that is a good 
gentleman, and not one of the highwaymen as I 
supposed.' 

" 'Yes, Susan,' said he, 'I Hke him better for 
thinking of his God, than for all his kind in- 
quiries after our welfare. I wish our Peter had 
been home from the army, if it was only to hear 
this good man talk; I am sure Washington him- 
self could not say more for his country, nor give 
a better history of the hardships endured by 
our brave soldiers.' 

" *Who knows now,' inquired the wife, *but it 
may be he himself, after all, my dear, for they 
do say, he travels just so, all alone, sometimes. 
Hark! what's that.?' 

"The sound of a voice came from the chamber 
of their guest, who was now engaged in his pri- 
vate religious worship. After thanking the Crea- 
tor for his many mercies, and asking a blessing 
on the inhabitants of the house, he continued: 
'And now. Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will, 
that we shall obtain a place and a name among 
the nations of the earth, grant that we may be 
enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness, 
by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless 
us with wisdom in our councils, success in battle, 
and let all our victories be tempered with 

1779] 126 [Age 47 



A MAN OF PRAYER 

humanity. Endow also our enemies with en- 
Hghtened minds, that they may become sensible 
of their injustice, and willing to restore our lib- 
erty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy ser- 
vant for the sake of Him whom Thou hast 
called Thy Beloved Son; nevertheless, not my 
will, but Thine be done. Amen.' 

"The next morning, the traveler, declining 
the pressing solicitations to breakfast with his 
host, declared it was necessary for him to cross 
the river immediately; at the same time offering 
a part of his purse, as a compensation , for the 
attention he had received, which was refused. 

" 'Well, sir,' concluded he, *since you will not 
permit me to recompense you for your trouble, 
it is but just that I should inform you on whom 
you have conferred so many obligations, and 
also add to them by requesting your assistance 
in crossing the river. I had been out yesterday, 
endeavoring to obtain some information respect- 
ing our enemy, and being alone, ventured too far 
from the camp; on my return I was surprised by 
a foraging party, and only escaped by my knowl- 
edge of the roads and the fleetness of my horse. 
My name is George Washington.' 

"Surprise kept the listener silent for a mo- 
ment; then, after unsuccessfully repeating the in- 
vitation to partake of some refreshment, he 
hastened to call two negroes, with whose assist- 

Age 471 127 U'^79 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

ance he placed the horse on a small raft of 
timber, that was lying in the river near the door, 
and soon conveyed the General to the opposite 
side, where he left him to pursue his way to the 
camp, wishing him a safe and prosperous jour- 
ney. On his return to the house he found that 
while he was engaged in making preparations 
for conveying the horse across the river his 
illustrious visitor had persuaded his wife to 
accept a token of remembrance, which the family 
are proud of exhibiting to this day [1835]. "^^^ 

(2) Another Instance 
Here is another instance of General Washing- 
ton's habit of prayer, witnessed during the war : 
In the year 1820, a clergyman of his state 

(Virginia), being in company with Major , 

a relative of General Washington, had an acci- 
dental conversation with him on the subject of 
Christianity. The conversation was of a con- 
troversial nature in the beginning, and as no 
good seemed to ensue, but some warmth of feel- 
ing, an effort was made to arrest the unprofitable 
discussion by an inquiry made of the Major, as 
to the religious opinions of his distinguished 
kinsman. This was done in part as knowing 
his veneration for Washington, and for informa- 
tion too, as he had been captain of the General's 
bodyguard during a greater part of the war, 
128 



A MAN OF PRAYER 

and possessed the best opportunities of learning 
his views and habits. In answer to the question, 
he observed, after hesitating for a moment, 
"General Washington was certainly a pious 
man, his opinions being in favor of religion, and 
his habits all of that character and description." 
Being further interrogated as to his habits, he 
replied that his uncle, he knew, was in the habit 
of praying in private; and with the animation of 
an old soldier, excited by professional recollec- 
tions rather than Isympathy with the subject, 
he related the circumstances of the following 
occurrence : 

"While encamped at (year and place forgotten 
by the writer), New Jersey, a soldier arrived one 
morning, about daybreak, with despatches for 
the Commander-in-chief, from a distant division 
of the army. As soon as his business was known 
he was directed to me as captain of the body- 
guard, to whom he came forthwith, and giving 
me his papers, I repaired at once to the General's 
quarters. On my way to his room after reach- 
ing the house I had to go along a narrow passage 
of some length. As I approached his door, it 
being yet nearly dark, I listened for a moment, 
when I distinguished it as the General's voice, 
and in another moment found that he was en- 
gaged in audible prayer. As in his earnestness 
he had not heard my footsteps, or if he heard 
129 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

me did not choose to be interrupted, I retired to 
the front of the dwelling, till such time as I sup- 
posed him unengaged; when returning, and no 
longer hearing his voice, I knocked at the door, 
which being promptly opened, I delivered the 
despatches, received an answer, and dismissed 
the soldier."i53 

(3) Heard at Prayer 
A writer says that the Rev. D. D. Field men- 
tioned to her the following: 

"Mrs. Watkins, a daughter of Governor Liv- 
ingston, being at my house in Stockbridge, some 
twenty years since [this was published in 1857], 
said that when she was a girl General Wash- 
ington lived four months at her father's during 
the Revolution, and that she had been by the 
side of his room and heard him at prayer. My 
impression is that she did this repeatedly. She 
said that his room was in a distant part of the 
building, and that she had to pass through 
several rooms to get by the side of the General's 
room. She stated that her sisters used to go 
with her and listen, and that their father, learn- 
ing what they were doing, checked them for it."^^^ 

(4) Saw Him on His Knees 
General Robert Porterfield, who was brigade- 
inspector under General Washington in the 
130 



A MAN OF PRAYER 

Revolution, told General S. H. Lewis that "upon 
one occasion, some emergency (which he men- 
tioned) induced him to dispense with the usual 
formality, and he went directly to General 
Washington's apartment, where he found him 
on his knees, engaged in morning devotions. He 
said that he mentioned the circumstances to 
General Hamilton, who replied that such was 
his constant habit. "^^^ 

(5) Another Witness 
Mr. Cornelius Doremus, who as a boy was 
fond of waiting on Washington, who lived part 
of a winter (1781) at his father's house in 
Pequannock, New Jersey, states that his bed- 
chamber was directly over that of the Com- 
mander-in-chief, and that he often distinctly 
heard the sound of that deep and earnest voice 
in private prayer. ^^^ 

(6) Daily Prayer 
"Throughout the war, as it was understood 
in his military family, he gave a part of every 
day to private prayer and devotion."^" 

Regular Attendant at Divine Service 

The interruptions which sometimes occurred, 

preventing divine service being performed in 

camp, did not interfere with attention to the 

131 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

duty on the part of the Commander-in-chief, for 
one of his secretaries, Jud,^e Harrison, has often 
been heard to say that "whenever the General 
could be spared from camp on the Sabbath, he 
never failed riding out to some neighboring 
church, to join those who were publicly wor- 
shiping the Great Creator. "^^^ 

"During the war he not unfrequently rode 
ten or twelve miles from camp to attend public 
worship; and he never omitted this attendance 
when opportunity presented. "^^^ 

Open-Air Service 
In Thacher's Military Journal is found a rec- 
ord of a religious service in the open field on 
Sunday, July 23, 1780, as follows: "I attended 
a sermon preached by Mr. Blair, chaplain of the 
artillery. The troops were paraded in the open 
field, the sermon was calculated to inculcate 
religious principles and the moral virtues. His 
Excellency General Washington, Major-Gen- 
erals Greene and Knox, with a number of other 
officers, were present. "^^^ 



1780] 132 [Age 48 



CHAPTER X 

WASHINGTON AND DIVINE 
PROVIDENCE 

Providence His Only Dependence 
Writing to William Gordon, March 9, 1781, 
from Newport, Rhode Island, he says: 

We have, as you very justly observe, abundant 
reasons to thank Providence for its many favorable 
interpositions in our behalf. It has at times been 
my only dependence, for all other resources seemed 
to have failed us.^^^ 

Hand of Providence Recognized 
Writing to Major-General Armstrong, March 
26, 1781, he says: 

Our affairs are brought to a perilous crisis, that the 
hand of Providence, I trust, may be more conspicu- 
ous in our deliverance. The many remarkable inter- 
positions of the Divine government in the hours of 
our deepest distress and darkness, have been too 
luminous to suffer me to doubt the happy issue of 
the, present contest; but the period for its accom- 
plishment may be too far distant for a person of my 
years, who in his morning and evening hours, and 
every moment un< ccupied by business, pants for 
Age 49] 133 [1781 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

retirement, and for those domestic and rural enjoy- 
ments, which in my estimation far surpass the high- 
est pageantry of this world. ^^^ 

Attends Church with Washington 
Governor Jonathan Trumbull tells in his diary 
of attending church with Washington on Sunday, 
May 20th, 1781, at Wethersfield, Connecticut: 
"Attended divine service with General Wash- 
ington per tot diem [through the whole day]. 
Mr. Marshall preached. Matt. 7:3, 'Blessed 
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of 
heaven.' "^^^ 

Thanksgiving Service After Cornwallis' 
Surrender 
The closing part of the orders issued by Gen- 
eral Washington to the army the day after the 
capitulation of Yorktown, October 20, 1781, is 
as follows: 

Divine service is to be performed to-morrow in 
the several brigades or divisions. The Commander- 
in-chief earnestly recommends that the troops not on 
duty should universally attend with that seriousness 
of deportment and gratitude of heart which the rec- 
ognition of such reiterated and astonishing interpo- 
sition of Providence demands of us.^^^ 

Adopts Children 
John Parke Custis, his step-son, and the only 

1781] 134, [Age 49 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

son of Mrs. Washington, was aide-de-camp to 
General Washington at the siege of Yorktown. 
He was seized with a violent attack of camp- 
fever, and removed to Eltham, Virginia, thirty 
miles from Yorktown, to the home of Colonel 
Bassett, who married Mrs. Washington's sister. 
After the surrender of Cornwallis, Washington 
hastened to his bedside. Mrs. Washington was 
already there. He was present at his death, 
November 5, 1781. "The chief bowed his head, 
and in tears gave vent to his deep sorrow; then 
turning to the weeping mother, he said, *I adopt 
the two younger children as my own' " [Eleanor 
Parke and George Washington Parke Custis, 
the former usually called "Nelly"]. ^^^ 

Belief in Overruling Providence 

He writes from Mount Vernon to the Presi- 
dent of Congress, November 15, 1781, as follows: 

Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of 
your favor of the 31st ultimo, covering the resolu- 
tions of Congress of the 29th, and a proclamation 
for a day of public prayer and thanksgiving; and 
have to thank you, sir, most sincerely, for the very 
polite and affectionate manner in which those en- 
closures have been conveyed. The success of the 
combined arms against our enemies at York and 
Gloucester, as it affects the welfare and independence 
of the United States, I viewed as a most fortunate 
Age 49] 135 [1781 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

event. In performing my part towards its accom- 
plishment, I consider myself to have done only my 
duty, and in the execution of that, I ever feel myself 
happy; and at the same time, as it augurs well to our 
cause, I take a particular pleasure in acknowledging 
that the interposing hand of Heaven, in the various 
instances of our extensive preparations for this opera- 
tion, has been most conspicuous and remarkable. ^^^ 

Intemperance Discouraged 
While intoxicating liquor was in general use in 
Washington's time, being regarded as beneficial, 
he discouraged intemperance in the army, as 
shown in the following "order," issued at Head- 
quarters, Newburgh, New York, May 16, 1782: 

The General is extremely concerned to learn that 
an article so salutary as that of distilled liquor was 
expected to be when properly used, and which was 
designed for the refreshment and comfort of the 
troops, has been in many instances productive of 
very ill consequences. 

He calls the attention of officers of every grade to 
remedy these abuses, and to watch over the health 
of their men; for which purpose he suggests the ex- 
pedient of keeping liquor rolls in every corps, from 
which the name of every soldier shall be struck off 
who addicts himself to drunkenness, or injures his 
constitution by intemperance. 

Such soldiers as are struck off are not to draw 
liquor on any occasion, but are to receive other arti- 
cles in lieu thereof. The Quartermasters, upon re- 
1782] 136 lAg^ 50 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

ceiving commuted articles, are to receipt for the full 
amount of rations included in the returns, that there 
may be no irregularity in the returns. The evil 
practice of swallowing the whole ration of liquor at a 
single draught is also to be prevented, by causing the 
sergeants to see it duly distributed daily, and mixed 
with water at stated times; in which case, instead of 
being pernicious, it will become very refreshing and 
salutary. An object so essential to the health of 
the men ought not only to be superintended by the 
officers of police, but to be deemed worthy to attract 
the attention of every officer who is anxious for the 
reputation of the corps to which he belongs, the wel- 
fare of individuals, and the good of the service. But 
it rests principally with the commandants of corps 
to have so useful a regulation carried effectually into 
execution, as well as to observe cleanliness and econ- 
omy and good order within the spheres of their 
respective commands. 

Major-General Heath will be pleased to settle 
with the brigadiers and commanding officers of 
brigades, the quantity of liquor proper to be drawn 
in kind by the troops; after which, he is authorized 
to commute, by agreement with the contractors, the 
rations of whiskey, or such proportion of them, as 
may be judged necessary, for vegetables or other 
articles, agreeably to the prices fixed in the contract 
to the component parts of a ration.^^^ 

Not W^aiting for Miracles 
In a "Circular to the States," dated Philadel- 

Age 50] 137 U782 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

phia, January 31, 1782, addressed to Meshech 
Weare, President of New Hampshire, occur the 
following sentiments: 

Although we cannot, by the best concerted plans, 
absolutely command success; although the race is 
not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; 
yet, without presumptuously waiting for miracles 
to be wrought in our favor, it is our indispensable 
duty, with the deepest gratitude to Heaven for the 
past, and humble confidence in its smiles on our 
future operations, to make use of all the means in our 
power for our defense and security. ^^^ 

Divine Service Every Sunday 
While encamped at Newburgh, New York, he 
gave the following order, Saturday, February 
15, 1783: 

The New Building being so far finished as to admit 
the troops to attend public worship therein, after 
to-morrow it is directed that divine service should be 
performed there every Sunday by the several chap- 
lains of the New Windsor Cantonment in rotation.^^^ 

Commends the Chaplains 
March 22, 1783, in the Orderly Book, New- 
burgh, New York, appears the following: 

In justice to the zeal and ability of the Chaplains, 
as well as to his own feelings, the Commander-in- 
Chief thinks it a duty to declare that the regularity 
1783] 138 [Age 51 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

and decorum with which Divine Service is per- 
formed every Sunday, will reflect great credit on the 
army in general, tend to improve the morals, and the 
same time increase the happiness of the soldiery, and 
must afford the most pure, rational entertainments 
for every serious and well-disposed mind.^^° 

Regard for Clergy 
"The high respect in which the clergy of the 
American army was held by Washington was 
known to every oflScer and soldier in the ranks. "^^^ 

Thanksgiving in the Army Ordered 
April 18, 1783, on proclaiming to the army the 
cessation of hostilities, at the end of the war, he 
said in the general orders: 

The proclamation, which will be communicated 
herewith, will be read tomorrow evening at the head 
of every regiment and corps in the army; after which 
the chaplains with the several brigades will render 
thanks to Almighty God for all his mercies, particu- 
larly for his overruling the wrath of man to his own 
glory, and causing the rage of war to cease among the 
nations. ^^^ 

Valedictory Message to the Governors of 
THE States 
From his Headquarters at Newburgh, New 
York, Sunday, June 8, 1783, General Washing- 
ton issued a circular letter on disbanding the 
army, which was addressed to the governors of 
Age 51] 139 11783 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

all the States. The following extracts show 
his deep religious sentiments: 

When we consider the magnitude of the prize we 
contended for, the doubtful nature of the contest, 
and the favorable manner in which it has terminated, 
we shall find the greatest possible reason for grati- 
tude and rejoicing. This is a theme that will afford 
infinite delight to every benevolent and liberal mind, 
whether the event in contemplation be considered 
as the source of present enjoyment or the parent of 
future happiness; and we shall have equal occasion 
to felicitate ourselves on the lot which Providence 
has assigned us, whether we view it in a natural, a 
political, or moral point of light. . . . 

They [the citizens of America] are from this period 
to be considered as the actors on a most conspicuous 
theatre, which seems to be peculiarly designated by 
Providence for the display of human greatness and 
felicity. Here they are not only surrounded with 
everything, which can contribute to the completion 
of private and domestic enjoyment, but Heaven has 
crowned all its other blessings, by giving a fairer 
opportunity for political happiness, than any other 
nation has ever been favored with. . . . The free 
cultivation of letters, the unbounded extension of 
commerce, the progressive refinement of manners, 
the growing liberality of sentiment and, above all, 
the pure and benign light of Revelation, have had a 
meliorating influence on mankind and increased the 
blessings of society. 

1783] 140 lAge 51 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

It remains, then, to be my final and only request, 
that your Excellency will communicate these senti- 
ments to your Legislature at their next meeting, and 
that they may be considered as the legacy of one who 
has ardently wished, on all occasions, to be useful to 
his country, and who, even in the shade of retirement, 
will not fail to implore the Divine benediction upon 
it. I now make it my earnest prayer, that God 
would have you and the State over which you pre- 
side, in his Holy protection; that He would incline 
the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of sub- 
ordination and obedience to government; to entertain 
a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their 
fellow citizens of the United States at large, and par- 
ticularly for their brethren who have served in the 
field; and finally, that He would most graciously be 
pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, 
and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, 
and pacific temper of mind, which are the character- 
istics of thepivine Author of our blessed religion, and 
without an humble imitation of whose example in these 
things we can never hope to be a happy nation.^^^ 

Thanks God 
W^ashington never failed to render thanks 
unto God for his guidance. August 26, 1783, 
he appeared before Congress, in session at 
Princeton, New Jersey. General Washington 
entered the hall of Congress, and a brief address 
was made to him by the President. In his re- 
sponse General Washington said: 

Age 511 141 Il'^S^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Notwithstanding Congress seems to estimate the 
value of my Hfe beyond any services I have been able 
to render the United States, yet I must be per- 
mitted to consider the wisdom and unanimity of 
our national councils, the firmness of our citizens, 
and the patience and bravery of our troops, who 
have produced so happy a termination of the war, 
as the most conspicuous effect of the Divine inter- 
position, and the surest presage of our future hap- 
piness. . . . 

Perhaps, sir, no occasion may offer more suitable 
than the present to express my humble thanks to 
God, and my grateful acknowledgments to my 
country, for the great and uniform support I have 
received in every vicissitude and fortune, and for 
the many distinguished honors which Congress has 
been pleased to confer upon me in the course of the 



Under the Control of Providence 
During the war Washington established head- 
quarters at nearly two hundred and fifty houses, 
which in eight years averages about twelve days 
to a house. He longed to retire to his home and 
private life. Addressing sundry individuals and 
bodies of men, near the close of the war, he uses 
the following language: 

I anticipate with pleasure the day, and that I 
trust not far off, when I shall quit the busy scenes of 
a military employment and retire to the more tran- 
1783] 14,2 I'^ge 51 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

quil walks of domestic life. In that, or whatever 
other situation Providence may dispose my future 
days, the remembrance of the many friendships and 
connections I have had the happiness to contract with 
the gentlemen of the army, will be one of my most 
grateful reflections. Under this contemplation, and 
impressed with the sentiments of benevolence and 
regard, I commend you, my dear sir, my other friends, 
and with them the interest and happiness of our dear 
country, to the keeping and protection of Almighty 
God.i" 

Thanksgiving for Treaty of Peace 
October 31, 1783, General and Mrs. Washing- 
ton, and many other distinguished people, 
attended the services in Princeton College Chap- 
el, in celebration and thanksgiving for the sign- 
ing at. Versailles, September 3, of the "Defini- 
tive Treaty of Peace" between the United States 
and Great Britain. "The oflScial Proclamation 
of Peace was the signal for rejoicing that beggars 
description. "^^^ 

Military Farewell Address 
In his farewell address to the armies of the 
United States at Rock Hill, near Princeton, New 
Jersey, November, 1783, he does not fail to 
express again in unmistakable terms his recog- 
nition of divine guidance and help: 

The singular interpositions of Providence in our 

Age 51] 143 [1783 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

feeble conditions were such as could scarcely escape 
the attention of the most observing. 

And being now to conclude these his last orders, to 
take his [Washington's] ultimate leave in a short time 
of the military character, and to bid a final adieu to 
the armies he has so long had the honor to command, 
he can only again offer in their behalf his recommen- 
dations to their grateful country, and his prayers to 
the God of armies. May ample justice be done 
them here, and may the choicest of Heaven's favors, 
both here and hereafter, attend those who, under 
Divine auspices, have secured innumerable blessings 
for others. With these wishes and this benediction, 
the Commander-in-chief is about to retire from serv- 
ice. The curtain of separation will soon be drawn, 
and the military scene to him will be closed for- 



Thanksgiving for End of War 
December 11, 1783, General and Mrs. Wash- 
ington, at Philadelphia, took part in the service 
of thanksgiving which had been recommended 
by Congress on the eighteenth of October, to 
be observed upon the ending of the great 
struggle. ^^^ 

Resigns His Commission 
In his address to Congress on resigning his 
commission at Annapolis, Maryland, December 
23, 1783, his last oflScial act as Commander-in- 

1783] 144 [Age 51 



DIVINE PROVIDENCE 

chief, once more he acknowledges the guidance 
and protection of Providence: 

Happy in the confirmation of our independence 
and sovereignty, and pleased with the opportunity 
offered the United States of becoming a respectable 
nation, I resign with satisfaction the appointment I 
accepted with diffidence, a diffidence in my abilities 
to accomplish so arduous a task, which, however, 
was superseded by a confidence in the rectitude of 
our cause, the support of the supreme power of the 
Union, and the patronage of Heaven. 

The successful termination of the war has verified 
the most sanguine expectations; and my gratitude for 
the interposition of Providence, and the assistance I 
have received from my countrymen, increases with 
every review of the momentous contest. 

I consider it an indispensable duty to close this 
last solemn act of my official life, by commending the 
interests of our dearest country to the protection of 
Almighty God, and those who have the superinten- 
dence of them to His holy keeping. ^^^ 



Age 51] 145 [1783 



CHAPTER XI 

CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

Christmas at Church 
During the eight years of the war Washington 
visited Mount Vernon only twice. The first 
was on Sunday, the 9th of September, 1781, on 
his way south for the campaign against Corn- 
walHs. After an absence of six years he re- 
mained only three days, leavmg on the 12th. 
The other time was after the surrender of Corn- 
wallis, stopping for a week on his way north 
again. Immediately after resigning his com- 
mission as Commander-in-chief he returns to 
Mount Vernon, arriving on Christmas Eve, 
Wednesday, December 24, 1783. The next day 
he attends church at Alexandria, in the Episco- 
pal church, where he owned a pew, purchased 
ten years before, "and no one bowed in deeper 
gratitude than the great general, who came as 
humbly as a little child to this, his Father's 
house. In addition to the Christmas service, 
the rector, the Reverend David Griffith, who 
served as chaplain of the Third Virginia Regi- 
ment in the Revolutionay war, read the exultant 
song of Moses and the children of Israel: *I will 

1783] 146 [Age 51 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed glo- 
riously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown 
into the sea'; and the sermon he preached was 
from the 128th Psalm: *Yea, thou shalt see thy 
children's children and peace upon Israel.' "^^° 

Supporting the Ministry 
The following interesting document will fur- 
nish very striking proof of his unfeigned desire 
for the respectable support of the Christian min- 
istry, and perpetual maintenance of religious in- 
stitutions and services. The design of the paper 
was, as the reader will observe, to subject the 
pews of the church to an annual rent, by a vol- 
untary subscription thereto on the part of the 
pewholders. Its language is: 

"We, the subscribers, do hereby agree that the 
pews we now hold in the Episcopal church at 
Alexandria, shall be forever charged with an 
annual rent of five pounds, Virginia money, each; 
and we hereby promise to pay (each for himself 
separately promising to pay), annually, for- 
ever, to the minister and vestry of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in Fairfax parish; or, if 
the parish should be divided, to the minister and 
vestry of the Protestant Episcopal Church in 
Alexandria, the said sum of five pounds for each 
pew, for the purpose of supporting the ministry 
in the said church: Provided, nevertheless, that 

Age 53] 147 [1785 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

if any law of this Commonwealth should here- 
after compel us, our heirs, executors, adminis- 
trators, or assigns, to pay to the support of re- 
ligion, the pew rent hereby granted, shall, in that 
case, be considered as part of what we may by 
such law be required to pay : Provided, also, that 
each of us pay only in proportion to the part we 
hold of the said pews. For the performance of 
which payment, well and truly to be made, for- 
ever, annually, within six months after demanded, 
we hereby bind ourselves (each for himself separ- 
ately) , our heirs, executors, administrators, and as- 
signs, firmly by these presents. In witness where- 
of, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this 
25th day of April, in the year of our Lord 1785." 

The above is an attested copy of the original, 
now on record in the vestry book of Christ 
Church, Alexandria. The article was signed by 
a number of the pewholders, the name of "G. 
Washington" being at the head of the list, in his 
own handwriting, with the seal attached. ^^^ 

Member of Church 
His adopted son says, "Washington was a 
member in full communion of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. "^^2 

Family Prayers 
"Washington had prayers morning and evening 

1785] 148 [Age 53 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

and was regular in attendance at the church in 
which he was a communicant. "^^^ 

How He Spent Sunday 
"Every Sunday morning the family went to 
church (when the weather and the roads per- 
mitted a ride of ten miles), and in the evening, 
the general read a sermon, or something else 
appropriate to the day, for the benefit of the 
household."i«4 

His adopted son says: "Washington was a 
strict and decorous observer of the Sabbath. 
He always attended divine service in the morn- 
ing and read a sermon or some portion of the 
Bible to Mrs. Washington in the afternoon. "^^^ 

Does Not Forget Falls Church 
"Mr. John Lynch, now an old man, who once 
served the Falls Church as sexton for over forty 
years, told the writer that in his younger days 
he learned from a number of aged persons 
that it was Washington's custom, while giving 
his regular attendance to Christ Church, Alex- 
andria, also to visit and worship at the Falls 
Church at least four times a year, this being part 
of his parish. The particular pew and place in 
church he usually occupied were said to have 
been marked and kept for him. . . . 

"Several residents of this village now living, 
149 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

whose mother, Mrs. Sarah Maria Sewell, died 
many years since at the age of ninety-seven, 
still delight and repeat her description of the 
great hero, whom in her childhood she had seen 
worshiping in this church. She remembered 
also his dining occasionally at her home near the 
church, and his taking her up in his arms and 
playfully caressing her."^^^ 

Dispenser of Human Events 
In a letter to Major-General Knox, written 
from Mount Vernon, February 20, 1784, he says: 

I feel now, however, as I conceive a wearied 
traveler must do who, after treading many a painful 
step with a heavy burden on his shoulders, is eased 
of the latter, having reached the haven to which all 
the former were directed; and from his housetop is 
looking back, and tracing with an eager eye the 
meanders by which he escaped the quicksands and 
mires which lay in his way; into which none but 
the all-powerful Guide and Dispenser of human 
events could have prevented his falling. ^^^ 

Entertains Ministers 
In his diary is the following entry: 

1785. Sunday, October 2— Went with Fanny 
Bassett, Burwell Bassett, Doctor Stuart, G. A. 
Washington, Mr. Shaw & Nelly Custis to the Pohick 
Church; to hear a Mr. Thompson preach, who 
1784] 150 [Age 52 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

returned home with us to dinner, where I found 
Reverend Mr. Jones [David Jones of Chester Co., 
Pa.], formerly a chaplain in one of the Pennsylvania 
Regiments.^^^ 

Wants Slavery Abolished 

In a letter to John F. Mercer, September 9, 
1786, written from Mount Vernon, he says: 

I never mean, unless some particular circum- 
stances should compel it, to possess another slave by 
purchase, it being among my first wishes to see some 
plan adopted, by which slavery in this country may 
be aboHshed by law.^^^ 

PoHicK Church Again 

He writes in his diary, Sunday, October 15, 
1786, "Accompanied by Major Washington, his 
^if^_Mr. Lear and the two children Nelly and 
Washington Custis— went to Pohick Church and 
returned to dinner."^^"^ 

The Rev. Mason L. Weems at Mount 
Vernon 

It has been claimed by some that the Rev. 
Mr. Weems, author of the cherry tree and 
hatchet story, never met Washington, but in 
this they are mistaken. After the Revolution, 
Mr. Weems preached at Pohick Church. Wash- 
ington's diary records that he attended church 
there several times during this period, at which 
time, no doubt, Mr. Weems was the preacher. 

Age 541 - 151 ^^'^^^ 



GEORGE, WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

On one occasion at least, Mr. Weems was enter- 
tained at Mount Vernon, of which the following 
entry in Washington's diary is indisputable evi- 
dence: "Saturday, March 3, 1787— The Rev. 
Mr. Weems and ye Doctor Craik who came here 
yesterday in the afternoon left about noon for 
Port Tobacco [Mary land], "^^^ 

President of Constitutional Convention 
May 25, 1787, Washington was elected "Presi- 
dent of the Constitutional Convention," which 
met in Philadelphia. When he took the chair, 
he said, "Let us raise the standard to which the 
wise and honest can repair; the event is in the 
hands of God."i92 

Goes to Church 
From the following entries in his diary we 
learn that during the convention he did not 
neglect attendance at church : 

1787. May 26 [Saturday]— Went to the Romish 
Church to high mass.^^^ 

Sunday, June 17, Went to [Christ] Church — 
heard Bishop White preach, and see him ordain two 
gentlemen Deacons.^®^ 

Prayer for Continued Protection of 
Providence 
In a letter to Jonathan Trumbull, written 
from Mount Vernon, July 20, 1787, he says: 

1787] 152 [Age 55 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

Your friend Colonel Humphreys informs me, from 
the wonderful revolution of sentiment in favor of 
federal measures, and the marvelous change for the 
better in the elections of the State, that he shall be- 
gin to suspect that miracles have not ceased. In- 
deed, for myself, since so much liberality has been 
displayed in the construction and adoption of the 
proposed general government, I am almost disposed 
to be of the same opinion. Or at least we may, 
with a kind of pious and grateful exultation, trace 
the fingers of Providence through those dark and 
mysterious events which first induced the States to 
appoint a general convention, and then led them one 
after another, by such steps as were best calculated 
to effect the object into an adoption of the system 
recommended by that general convention; thereby 
in all human probability laying a lasting foundation 
for tranquillity and happiness, when we had but too 
much reason to fear that confusion and misery were 
coming rapidly upon us. That the same good Provi- 
dence may still continue to protect us, and prevent 
us from dashing the cup of national felicity, just as it 
has been lifted to our lips, is the earnest prayer of, 
my dear sir, your faithful friend, etc., etc.^^^ 

Toleration in Religion 
In a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette, 
written from Philadelphia, August 15, 1787, he 
says: 

I am not less ardent in my wish that you may 
succeed in your plan of toleration in religious matters. 
Age 55] 153 [1787 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Being no bigot myself to any mode of worship, I am 
disposed to indulge the professors of Christianity in 
the church with that road to Heaven which to them 
shall seem the most direct, plainest and easiest, and 
the least liable to exception. ^^^ 

Goes to Pohick Church 
Although an attendant at the Episcopal 
church at Alexandria, we learn from an occa- 
sional entry in his diary that he did not lose in- 
terest in the old church at Pohick: "Sunday, 
October 28 [1787]— Went to Pohick church- 
Mr. Lear and Washington Custis in the carriage 
with me."^^^ 

Church at Alexandria 
We know from the diaries of some of his con- 
temporaries that W^ashington did not note in his 
diary every time he attended church, nor is it 
clear that there was always a particular reason 
for mentioning the fact of going to church. 
However, the entries are very interesting: "Sun- 
day, April 13 [1788]— Went to church at Alex- 
andria, accompanied by Col. Humphrey, Mr. 
Lear and Washington Custis. "^^^ 

Panic in Church 
While visiting his mother at Fredericksburg, 
Virginia, he attends the village church. The 
people, knowing he was to be there, crowded 

1788] 154) [Age 56 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

into the church until it seemed that the floor 
would give way. In his diary we find this 
record for Sunday, June 15, 1788: 

On Sunday we went to church — the congregation 
being alarmed (without cause) and supposing the 
gallery at the north end was about to fall, were 
thrown into the utmost confusion; and in the precip- 
itate retreat to the doors many got hurt.^^^ 

Omnipotent Being Never Deserted 
America 
Writing from Mount Vernon to James Mc- 
Henry, July 31, 1788, he says in closing: "I 
earnestly pray that the Omnipotent Being, who 
has not deserted the cause of America in the 
hour of its extremest hazard, may never yield so 
fair a heritage of freedom a prey to anarchy or 
despotism."^ 

An Honest Man 
Writing to Alexander Hamilton from Mount 
Vernon, August 28, 1788, he closes with this: 
"Still I hope I shall always possess firmness and 
virtue enough to maintain what I consider the 
most enviable of all titles, the character of an 
honest man.^'^^ 

Right vs. Popularity 
In a letter to Henry Lee, in Congress, written 

Age 66] 155 (1788 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

from Mount Vernon, September 22, 1788, in 
reply to a letter urging him to accept the presi- 
dency, he says: 

Nor will you conceive me to be solicitous for repu- 
tation. Though I prize as I ought the good opinion 
of my fellow citizens, yet, if I know myself, I would 
not seek to retain popularity at the expense of one 
social duty or moral virtue. 

While doing what my conscience informed me was 
right, as it respected my God, my country, and my- 
self, I could despise all the party clamor and unjust 
censure which might be expected from some whose 
personal enmity might be occasioned by their hos- 
tility to the government. 2°^ 

Goes to Pohick Church Again 
In his diary for Sunday, October 26, 1788, he 
writes: "Went to Pohick Church and returned 
home to dinner."^"^ 

His Last Visit to His Mother 
Just before his departure for New York to 
take the oath of office, and to enter upon his new 
duties, Washington, actuated by that filial rev- 
erence and regard which always distinguished 
him, hastened to Fredericksburg to visit his 
mother. She was then four score and two years 
old, bowed with age and the ravages of that 
terrible disease, a deep-rooted cancer in the 
breast. Their interview was deeply affecting. 

1788] 156 [Age 56 




WASHINGTON AND HIS MOTHER 

By courtesy of Mr. Henry F. Scheetz, Philadelphia, Pa., 
owner of original steel engraving. 



CHURCH ATTENDANCE AT HOME 

After the first emotions incident to the meeting 
had subsided, Washington said: "The people, 
Madam, have been pleased, with the most flat- 
tering unanimity, to elect me to the chief magis- 
tracy of these United States; but before I can 
assume the functions of my office, I have come 
to bid you an affectionate farewell. So soon as 
the public business, which must necessarily be 
encountered in arranging a new government, can 
be disposed of, I shall hasten to Virginia, and — " 

Here the matron interrupted him with, "And 
you will see me no more. My great age, and 
the disease which is fast approaching my vitals, 
warn me that I shall not be long in this world. 
I trust in God that I may be somewhat pre- 
pared for a better. But go, George, fulfill the 
high destinies which Heaven appears to have 
intended you for; go, my son, and may that / 
Heaven's and a mother's blessing be with you 
always." 

Washington wept. His head rested upon 
the shoulder of his mother, whose aged arm 
feebly, yet fondly encircled his neck. The great 
man was again a little child, and he kissed the 
furrowed cheek of his parent with all the tender 
affection and simplicity of a loving boy. With 
full heart he went forth to "fulfill the destiny" 
which heaven assigned him, and he saw his 
mother no more.^°^ 

Age 57] 157 fl'^S^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Takes No Credit to Himself 

In an address to mayor, recorder, aldermen 
and Common Council of the city of Philadel- 
phia, at a great civic banquet, April 20, 1789, in 
reply to a congratulatory address on his election 
to be President, he says: 

When I contemplate the interposition of Provi- 
dence, as it was manifested in guiding us through the 
Revolution, in preparing us for the reception of a 
general government, and in conciliating the good will 
of the people of America towards one another after 
its adoption, I feel myself oppressed and almost 
overwhelmed with a sense of the divine munificence. 
I feel that nothing is due to my personal agency in 
all these complicated and wonderful events, except 
what can simply be attributed to the exertions of an 
honest zeal for the good of my country. 

If I have distressing apprehensions, that I shall not 
be able to justify the too exalted expectations of 
my countrymen, I am supported under the pressure 
of such uneasy reflections by a confidence that the 
most gracious Being, who has hitherto watched over 
the interests and averted the perils of the United 
States, will never suffer so fair an inheritance to be- 
come a prey to anarchy, despotism, or any other 
species of oppression. ^^^^ 



1789] 168 [Age 57 



CHAPTER XII 
A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

Inauguration 

Thursday, April 30, 1789, was the day of in- 
auguration. At nine o'clock in the morning, 
religious services were held in the churches, and 
God's blessing invoked in behalf of the new gov- 
ernment. At twelve, the President-elect moved 
in procession to Federal Hall, in Wall Street, 
where the United States Sub-Treasury Building, 
formerly the customhouse, now stands, and was 
received at the door and conducted to the chair 
by Mr. Adams, the Vice-President. A solemn 
silence prevailed when Mr. Adams rose and in- 
formed him that all things were prepared for 
him to take the oath of office required by the 
constitution. Washington then proceeded to a 
balcony in front of the senate chamber, in view 
of an immense crowd of people, who hailed him 
with loud applause. He laid his hand upon his 
heart, and having bowed several times, he took 
his seat in an armchair, near a table covered 
with crimson velvet, on which a superbly bound 
Bible had been placed. 

Washington was dressed in a full suit of dark 

Age 57] 159 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

brown cloth, with white silk stockings, all of 
American manufacture, silver shoe-buckles, his 
hair tied and powdered, and a steel-hilted dress 
sword by his side. 

After a few moments he rose and came for- 
ward to the front of the balcony, Mr. Otis, the 
secretary of state, holding up the Bible on its 
crimson cushion. 

Chancellor Livingston, of New York, ad- 
ministered the oath, which was read slowly and 
distinctly, Washington laying his hand on the 
open Bible, and at the conclusion, answering 
with great solemnity, "I swear — so help me 
God!" He then bowed down reverently and 
kissed the Bible. 

The chancellor now stepped forward, waved 
his hand, and said, "Long live George Wash- 
ington, President of the United States." 

The crowds below sent up a loud shout of 
joy, while the merry peal of church bells and 
the roar of artillery spread the news abroad, 
that the birth of a new nation was accom- 
plished. 

Returning to the senate chamber, the Presi- 
dent delivered his inaugural address, and then 
proceeded with the whole assembly on foot to 
Saint Paul's Church, where divine service was 
celebrated by Mr. Samuel Provoost, Bishop of 
the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York, 

1789] 1(30 [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

who had been appointed by the Senate one of the 
chaplains of Congress. ^^^ 

First Inaugural Address 

The first inaugural address was delivered to 
both Houses of Congress, April 30, 1789. It 
was in part as follows: 

Such being the impressions under which I have, in 
obedience to the public summons, repaired to the 
present station/ it would be peculiarly improper to 
omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplica- 
tions to that Almighty Being, who rules over the 
universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and 
whose providential aids can supply every human de- 
fect, that His benediction may consecrate to the 
liberties and happiness of the people of the United 
States a government instituted by themselves for 
these essential purposes and may enable every 
instrument employed in its administration to 
execute with success the functions allotted to his 
charge. In tendering this homage to the great 
Author of every public and private good, I assure 
myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than 
my own, nor those of my fellow citizens at large, less 
than either. . . . No people can be bound to acknowl- 
edge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the 
affairs of men more than the people of the United 
States. Every step by which they have advanced 
to the character of an independent nation seems to 
have been distinguished by some token of provi- 
Age57] 161 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

dential agency. . . . These reflections, arising out 
of the present crisis, have forced themselves too 
strongly on my mind to be suppressed. You will 
join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none, 
under the influence of which the proceedings of a 
new and free government can more auspiciously 
commence. . . . We ought to be no less persuaded 
that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be 
expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules 
of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained. 
Having thus imparted to you my sentiments, as they 
have been awakened by the occasion which brings 
us together, I shall take my present leave; but not 
without resorting once more to the benign Parent 
of the human race, in humble supplication that, 
since He has been pleased to favor the American 
people with opportunities for deliberating in perfect 
tranquillity, and dispositions for deciding with un- 
paralleled unanimity on a form of government for 
the security of their union and the advancement of 
their happiness, so His divine blessing may be 
equally conspicuous in the enlarged views, the tem- 
perate consultations, and the wise measures, on 
which the success of this government may depend. ^^^ 

Grace at State Dinner 

Mrs. Washington left Mount Vernon for New 
York on the 19th of May, 1789. On her arrival 
the President gave a semi-oflScial dinner. From 
one who was present (Mr. Wingate) we have the 
following account : 

1789] 162 [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

"The guests consisted of the Vice-President, 
the foreign ministers, the heads of departments, 
the speaker of the House of Representatives, 
and the senators from New Hampshire and 
Georgia, the then most Northern and Southern 
States. It was the least showy dinner that I 
ever saw at the President's table, and the com- 
pany was not large. As there was no chaplain 
present, the President himself said a very short 
grace as he was sitting down."^^^ 

Address to Methodist Episcopal Church 
After his inauguration many formal addresses 
were sent to President Washington by the vari- 
ous religious societies. His replies form an illu- 
minating commentary on his religious character. 
The following address was delivered to the 
bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 
the United States in May, 1789: 

Gentlemen I return to you individually, and 
through you, to your society collectively in the 
United States, my thanks for the demonstrations of 
affection and the expressions of joy, offered in their 
behalf, on my late appointment. It shall still be 
my endeavor to manifest by overt acts the purity of 
my inclinations for promoting the happiness of man- 
kind, as well as the sincerity of my desires to con- 
tribute whatever may be in my power towards the 
preservation of the civil and religious Hberties of the 
Age 57] lg3 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

American people. In pursuing this line of conduct, 
I hope, by the assistance of Divine Providence, not 
altogether to disappoint the confidence which you 
have been pleased to repose in me. 

It always affords me satisfaction when I find a 
concurrence in sentiment and practice between all 
conscientious men in acknowledgments of homage 
to the great Governor of the Universe, and in pro- 
fessions of support to a just civil government. After 
mentioning that I trust the people of every denomi- 
nation who demean themselves as good citizens will 
have occasion to be convinced that I shall always 
strive to prove a faithful and impartial patron of 
genuine, vital religion, I must assure you in particu- 
lar, that I take in the kindest part the promise you 
make of presenting your prayers at the throne of 
grace for me, and that I likewise implore the divine 
benediction on yourselves and your religious com- 
munity.^^^ 

Address to Baptist Churches 
An address was delivered to the General 
Committee, representing the United Baptist 
Churches in Virginia, in May, 1789, as follows: 

Gentlemen : I request that you will accept my best 
acknowledgments for your congratulation on my ap- 
pointment to the first office in the nation. The kind 
manner in which you mention my past conduct 
equally claims the expression of my gratitude. 

After we had, by the smiles of Heaven on our ex- 
ertions, obtained the object for which we contended, 
1789] 164 [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

I retired, at the conclusion of the war, with the idea 
that my country could have no farther occasion for 
my services, and with the intention of never entering 
again into public life; but, when the exigencies of my 
country seemed to require me once more to engage 
in public affairs, an honest conviction of duty super- 
seded my former resolution, and became my apology 
for deviating from the happy plan which I had 
adopted. 

If I could have entertained the slightest appre- 
hension that the constitution framed in the con- 
vention where I had the honor to preside might pos- 
sibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesias- 
tical society, certainly I would never have placed my 
signature to it; and, if I could now conceive that the 
general government might ever be so administered 
as to render the liberty of conscience insecure, I beg 
you will be persuaded that no one would be more 
zealous than myself to establish effectual barriers 
against the horrors of spiritual tyranny and every 
species of religious persecution. For you doubtless 
remember, that I have often expressed my senti- 
ments that every man conducting himself as a good 
citizen, and being accountable to God alone for his 
religious opinions, ought to be protected in wor- 
shiping the Deity according to the dictates of his own 
conscience. 

While I recollect with satisfaction that the reli- 
gious society of which you are members have been, 
throughout America, uniformly and almost unani- 
mously the firm friend to civil liberty, and the per- 
Age57] 165 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

severing promoters of our glorious Revolution, I can- 
not hesitate to believe that they will be the faithful 
supporters of a free, yet efficient general government. 
Under this pleasing expectation I rejoice to assure 
them, that they may rely on my best wishes and en- 
deavors to advance their prosperity. 

In the meantime, be assured. Gentlemen, that I en- 
tertain a proper sense of your fervent supplications 
to God for my temporal and eternal happiness. ^^^ 

Presbyterian Church Sends Address to 
Washington 

The first meeting of the "General Assembly of 
the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A.," 
adopted an address to the President of the 
United States, on the 26th of May, 1789, and 
who, no doubt, expressed what they knew of his 
religious character. It is a splendid testimony 
to his faith in Christianity : 

"But we derive a presage even more flattering 
from the piety of your character. Public vir- 
tue is the most certain means of public felicity, 
and religion is the surest basis of virtue. We 
therefore esteem it a peculiar happiness to be- 
hold in our Chief Magistrate, a steady, uniform, 
avowed friend of the Christian religion; w^ho has 
commenced his administration in rational and 
exalted sentiments of piety; and who, in his pri- 
vate conduct, adorns the doctrines of the gospel 
of Christ; and on the most public and solemn 

1789] IQQ [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

occasions, devoutly acknowledges the govern- 
ment of Divine Providence/'^n 

Address to Presbyterian Church 
He delivered the following reply to the ad- 
dress of the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Church in the United States of America, 
in May, 1789: 

Gentlemen: I receive with great sensibility the 
testimonial given by the General Assembly of the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 
of the lively and unfeigned pleasure experienced by 
them on my appointment to the first office of the 

nation. 

Although it will be my endeavor to avoid bemg 
elated by the too favorable opinion which your kind- 
ness for me may have induced you to express of the 
importance of my former conduct and the effect of 
my future services, yet, conscious of the disinterest- 
edness of my motives, it is not necessary for me to 
conceal the satisfaction I have felt upon finding that 
my compUance with the call of my country and my 
dependence on the assistance of Heaven to support 
me in my arduous undertakings have, so far as I can 
learn, met the universal approbation of my country- 
men. 

While I reiterate the professions of my dependence 
upon Heaven as the source of all public and private 
blessings, I will observe that the general prevalence 
of piety, philanthropy, honesty, industry, and 
Age 57] 167 ^^'^^^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

economy seems, in the ordinary course of human 
affairs, particularly necessary for advancing and con- 
firming the happiness of our country. While all 
men within our territories are protected in wor- 
shiping the Deity according to the dictates of their 
consciences, it is rationally to be expected from them 
in return that they will all be emulous of evincing the 
sanctity of their professions, of the innocence of their 
lives, and the beneficence of their actions; for no man 
who is profligate in his morals, or a bad member of 
the civil community, can possibly be a true Christian 
or a credit to his own religious society. 

I desire you to accept my acknowledgments for 
your laudable endeavors to render men sober, honest, 
and good citizens, and the obedient subjects of a law- 
ful government, as well as for your prayers to Al- 
mighty God for His blessings on our common country, 
and the humble instrument which He has been 
pleased to make use of in the administration of its 
government.^^2 

Address to the United Brethren 

The following address was given to the Direc- 
tors of the Society of the United Brethren for 
Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen, in 
July, 1789: 

Gentlemen: I receive with satisfaction the con- 
gratulations of your society, and of the Brethren's 
congregations in the United States of America. For 
you may be persuaded that the approbation and good 
1789] 168 [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

wishes of such a peaceable and virtuous community 
cannot be indifferent to me. 

You will also be pleased to accept my thanks for 
the treatise you presented, ("An account of the man- 
ner in which the Protestant Church of the Unitas 
Fratrum, or United Brethren, preach the Gospel and 
carry on their mission among the Heathen,") and be 
assured of my patronage in your laudable under- 
takings. 

In proportion as the general government of the 
United States shall acquire strength by duration, it 
is probable they may have it in their power to extend 
a salutary influence to the aborigines in the extremi- 
ties of their territory. In the meantime it will be a 
desirable thing, for the protection of the Union, to co- 
operate, as far as the circumstances may conveni- 
ently admit, with the disinterested endeavors of your 
Society to civilize and Christianize the savages of the 
wilderness. 

Under these impressions, I pray Almighty God to 
have you always in his Holy keeping. ^^^ 

Address to Protestant Episcopal Church 
An address to the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the States 
of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Dela- 
ware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, 
in General Convention Assembled, August 19, 
1789, is as follows: 

Gentlemen: I sincerely thank you for your af fee- 
Age 57] 169 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

tionate congratulations on my election to the chief 
magistracy of the United States. 

After having received from my fellow-citizens in 
general the most liberal treatment, after having 
found them disposed to contemplate, in the most 
flattering point of view, the performance of my mili- 
tary services, and the manner of my retirement at 
the close of the war, I feel that I have a right to con- 
sole myself in my present arduous undertakings with 
a hope that they will still be inclined to put the most 
favorable construction on the motives which may 
influence me in my future public transactions. 

The satisfaction arising from the indulgent opinion 
entertained by the American people of my conduct 
will, I trust, be some security for preventing me from 
doing anything which might justly incur the for- 
feiture of that opinion. And the consideration that 
human happiness and moral duty are inseparably 
connected, will always continue to prompt me to 
promote the progress of the former by inculcating 
the practice of the latter. 

On this occasion it would ill become me to conceal 
the joy I have felt in perceiving the fraternal affec- 
tion which appears to increase every day among the 
friends of genuine religion. It affords edifying pros- 
pects, indeed, to see Christians of different denomina- 
tions dwell together in more charity, and conduct 
themselves in respect to each other with a more 
Christian-like spirit, than ever they have done in any 
former age, or in any other nation. 

I receive with the greater satisfaction your con- 
1879] 170 [^^ge 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

gratulations on the establishment of the new con- 
stitution of government, because I believe its mild 
yet efficient operations will tend to remove every 
remaining apprehension of those with whose opinions 
it may not entirely coincide, as well as to confirm the 
hopes of its numerous friends; and because the mod- 
eration, patriotism, and wisdom of the present fed- 
eral Legislature seem to promise the restoration of 
order and our ancient virtues, the extension of genu- 
ine religion, and the consequent advancement of oiu* 
respectability abroad, and of our substantial happi- 
ness at home. 

I request, most reverend and respected Gentlemen, 
that you will accept my cordial thanks for your de- 
vout supplications to the Supreme Ruler of the Uni- 
verse in behalf of me. May you, and the people 
whom you represent, be the happy subjects of the 
divine benedictions both here and hereafter.^ ^^ 

Sickness 

Soon after his inauguration Washington, 
wearied by labor and excitement, was seized 
with a violent illness which lasted for six weeks. 
One day, being alone with Dr. Samuel Bard, his 
physician, he requested to be told, without hesita- 
tion, what would be the probable result of this 
dangerous attack, saying, "Do not flatter me 
with vain hopes; I am not afraid to die, and 
therefore can bear the worst." 

The doctor's answer, while it expressed hope, 
acknowledged his apprehensions. The Presi- 

Age 57] 171 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

dent replied, "Whether to-night, or twenty 
years hence, makes no difference; I know that I 
am in the hands of a good Providence."^^^ 

Death of His Mother 
Before the President had entirely recovered 
he received intelligence of the death of his 
mother on the 25th of August, 1789, at the age 
of eighty-two. 

The following extract from a letter, written 
by General Washington to his only sister, Mrs. 
Betty Lewis, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, will 
attest the filial sensibility with which he re- 
garded the death of his mother, and the pious 
resignation cherished by him in reference to the 
event : 

Awful and affecting as the death of a parent is, 
there is consolation in knowing that Heaven has 
spared ours to an age beyond which few attain, and 
favored her with the full enjoyment of her mental 
faculties, and as much bodily strength as usually 
falls to the lot of fourscore. Under these considera- 
tions, and the hope that she is translated to a happier 
place, it is the duty of her relatives to yield due sub- 
mission to the decrees of the Creator. When I was 
last at Fredericksburg I took a final leave of my 
mother, never expecting to see her more.^^^ 

First National Thanksgiving 
The proclamation for the first national thanks- 

1789] 17^ [Age 57 



A CHRISTIAN PRESIDENT 

giving day in the new republic was issued Oc- 
tober 3, 1789, as follows: 

Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowl- 
edge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, 
to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore 
his protection and favor; and, whereas, both Houses 
of Congress have, by their joint committee, re- 
quested me "to recommend to the people of the 
United States a day of public thanksgiving and 
prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grate- 
ful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty 
God, especially by affording them an opportunity 
peaceably to establish a form of government for 
their safety and happiness;" 

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign 
Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, 
to be devoted by the people of these States to the 
service of that great and glorious Being, who is the 
Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, 
or that will be; that we may then all unite in render- 
ing unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His 
kind care and protection of the people of this country, 
previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal 
and manifold mercies, and the favorable interposi- 
tions of His providence, in the course and conclusion 
of the late war; for the great degree of tranquillity, 
union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed; for 
the peaceable and rational manner in which we have 
been enabled to establish constitutions of govern- 
ment for our safety and happiness, and particularly 
the national one now lately instituted; for the civil 
Age 57] 173 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and 
the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful 
knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and 
various favors, which He has been pleased to confer 
upon us. 

And, also, that we may then unite in most humbly 
offering our prayers and supplications to the great 
Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to par- 
don our national and other transgressions; to enable 
us all, whether in public or private stations, to per- 
form our several and relative duties properly and 
punctually; to render our national government a 
blessing to all the people, by constantly being a gov- 
ernment of wise, just, and constitutional laws, dis- 
creetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to pro- 
tect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially 
such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless 
them with good governments, peace, and concord; to 
promote the knowledge and practice of true religion 
and virtue, and the increase of science, among them 
and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind 
such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone 
knows to be best. 

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, 
the third day of October, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.^^^ 



1789] 174 [Age 67 



CHAPTER XIII 

HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

Sundays Away from Home 
As soon as his health was restored, after the 
severe attack we have mentioned, in the first 
year of his presidency. President Washington 
made a long-intended tour by carriage through 
the New England States, travehng in his own 
chariot, attended on horseback by his secre- 
taries. The following extracts from his diary 
show how he spent the Sundays away from 
home, including the last two Sundays at home 
in New York: 

October, 1789 
Sunday, 4th 
Went to St. PauFs Chappel in forenoon. 

Sunday, 11th 
At home all day — writing private letters. 

Thursday, 15th 
Commenced my journey about 9 o'clock for Boston 
and tour through the Eastern States. 

At New Haven, Connecticut 
Sunday, 18th [October] 
Went in the forenoon to the Episcopal Church, and 

Age 57] 175 [1789 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

in the afternoon to one of the Congregational Meet- 
ing-Houses.^^^ 

At Boston^ Massachusetts 

Sunday, 25th [October] 

Attended Divine Service at the Episcopal Church, 

whereof Doctor Samuel Parker is the Incumbent, in 

the forenoon, and the Congregational Church of Mr. 

Thatcher [Rev. Peter Thatcher] in the afternoon.^^^ 

At Portsmouth^ New Hampshire 
November 1st, 1789 
I went in the forenoon to the Episcopal Church, 
under the incumbency of a Mr. Ogden; in the after- 
noon to one of the Presbyterian or Congregational 
Churches, in which a Mr. Buckminster [Rev. Joseph 
Buckminster] preached. ^^^ (See p. 178.) 

A Sunday in Connecticut 
Sunday, 8th [November] 
It being contrary to law and disagreeable to the 
People of this State [Connecticut] to travel on the 
Sabbath Day — and my horses, after passing through 
such intolerable roads, wanting to rest, I stayed at 
Perkins' tavern (which, by the by, is not a good one) 
all day — and a meeting-house being within a few 
rods of the door, I attended morning and evening 
service, and heard very lame discourses from a Mr. 
Pond [Rev. Enoch Pond].22i 

Halted by Officer 
On this Sunday, Washington came near being 

1789] 176 [Age 57 



HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

arrested, as related in the following very inter- 
esting incident: 

"In the town of , in Connecticut, 

where the roads were extremely rough, Wash- 
ington was overtaken by night, on Saturday, 
not being able to reach the town, where he 
designed to rest on the Sabbath. Next morn- 
ing about sunrise, his coach was harnessed, 
and he was proceeding onward to an inn, 
near the place of worship, which he proposed 
to attend. 

"A plain man, who was an informing officer, 
came from a cottage, and inquired of the coach- 
man whther there were any urgent reasons for 
his traveling on the Lord's Day. The General, 
instead of resenting this as impertinent rudeness, 
ordered the coachman to stop, and with great 
civility explained the circumstances to the of- 
ficer, commending him for his fidelity, and as- 
sured him that nothing was farther from his in- 
tention than to treat with disrespect the laws 
and usages of Connecticut, relative to the Sab- 
bath, which met with his most cordial approba- 
tion."222 

Sundays at Home 
How Washington spent his Sundays at home 
in New York, as shown by a few extracts from 
his diary: 

Age 57] 177 ^^'^^^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Sunday, 15th [November, 1789] 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 22nd 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon — heard 
a charity sermon for the benefit of the Orphan's 
School of this city. 

Thursday, 26th 
Being the day appointed for a thanksgiving, I went 
to St. Paul's Chapel, though it was most inclement 
and stormy — but few people at church. 

Sunday, 29th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon.^^^ 

December, 1789 
Sunday, 6th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 13th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 20th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. ^^'* 

Letter to Rev. Joseph Buckminster 
The following letter was written from New 
York, December 23, 1789, to Rev. Joseph Buck- 
minster, D.D., of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 
whose church Washington attended November 1, 
1789, during his New England trip (see page 176) : 
Your letter of the 27th of November and the dis- 

1789] 178 [Age 57 




ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK 



HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

course which it enclosed has been duly read. I con- 
sider the sermon on the death of Sir William Pepper- 
ell, which you were so good as to send me by the de- 
sire of Lady Pepperell, his relict, as a mark of atten- 
tion from her which required my particular acknowl- 
edgements; and I am sorry that the death of that 
lady, which I see announced in the public papers, 
prevents my thanks being returned to her for her 
respect and good wishes. You, sir, will please ac- 
cept them for yourself in forwarding the discourse, 
and my request that they may be added to the 
Reverend Clark with my approbation of the doctrine 
therein inculcated. 

This letter to Doctor Buckminster is especially 
notable, because, though the larger part was 
dictated, Washington has added in his own hand 
his "approbation of the doctrine" of the dis- 
course. It is doubtful if in all his writings simi- 
lar approval of any statement of doctrine can 
be found. The title of the able discourse 
alluded to is "A Sermon occasioned by the 
death of the Honorable Sir William Pepperell, 
Bart., Lieutenant General in His Majesty's 
Service, etc., who died at his seat in Kittery (near 
Portsmouth, N. H.), July 6, 1759; Preached the 
next Lord's Day after his funeral by Benjamin 
Stevens, A. M., Pastor of the First Church in 
Kittery, Boston, etc., 1759." 

The text selected for this most eminent per- 

Age 57] 179 tl'^8^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

sonage of Maine — the only native of America 
ever baroneted, though two were knighted 
(Fitch and Randolph) — was from the 82d psalm, 
"But ye shall die like men" (v. 7.) Referring 
to the previous verse, "I have said, Ye are gods," 
the preacher said that rulers might in a sense 
be properly so styled, because government being 
appointed of God, magistrates were his repre- 
sentatives. He defined God as a moral Gov- 
ernor, engaged in a great plan of wisdom and 
benevolence. "As this world is not a state of 
Retribution, it is requisite that these earthly 
Gods should be removed by Death as well as 
other Men, in order to complete the Plan of the 
Divine Government. Indeed, the great ends 
of the moral administration of God seem to 
require this, to suppress the progress of vice and 
promote virtue and goodness in the present 
state, but especially for the final adjustment of 
all things with equity. "^^ 

Diary (continued) 
Friday, 25th — Christmas Day 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 27th 
At home — all day — weather being bad. 
January, 1790 
Sunday, 3d 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel. 

1790] 180 [Age 58 



HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

Sunday, 10th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 17th 
At home all day — ^not well. 

Sunday, 24th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 31st 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

February, 1790 
Sunday, 7th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 14th 
At home all day. Writing private letters to Vir- 
ginia. 

Sunday, 21st 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

Sunday, 28th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon. 

March, 1790 
Sunday, 7th 
At home all day — writing letters on private busi- 
ness. 

Sunday, 14th 
Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon— wrote 
letters on private business afterwards. 
Age 58] 181 [17»<> 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Sunday, 21st 

Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon — wrote 
private letters in the afternoon. 

Received Mr. Jefferson, Minister of State, about 
one o'clock. 

Sunday, 28th 

Went to St. Paul's Chapel in the forenoon.^^^ 

Consecration of Trinity Church 
Wednesday, March 24, 1790, the new Trinity 
Church, New York, was consecrated; Bishop 
Samuel Provoost officiated. The President, Mrs. 
Washington, and their two children occupied a 
handsomely draped pew, which the wardens, 
John Jay and James Duane, had selected and 
arranged for the Executive family. ^^^ 

Diary (continued) 
It will be observed that hereafter he attends 
the new Trinity Church. 

April, 1790 
Sunday, 4th 
At home all day — unwell. 

Sunday, 11th 
Went to Trinity Church in the forenoon, and wrote 
several private letters in the afternoon. 

Sunday, 18th 
At home all day — the weather being very stormy 
& bad, wrote private letters. 
1790] 182 [Age 58 



HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

Sunday, 25th 
Went to Trinity Church, and wrote letters home 
after dinner. ^^^ 

May, 1790 
Sunday, 2d 
Went to Trinity Church in the forenoon — ^writ- 
ing letters on private business in the afternoon. 

Sunday, 9th 
Indisposed with a bad cold, and at home all day 
writing letters on private business. 

June, 1790 
Sunday, 27th 
Went to Trinity Church in the forenoon — and em- 
ployed myself in writing business in the afternoon. 

July, 1790 
Sunday, 4th 
Went to Trinity Church in the forenoon. This 
day being the Anniversary of the Declaration of In- 
dependency the celebration of it was put off until 
to-morrow. 

Monday, 5th 
About one o'clock a sensible oration was delivered 
in St. Paul's Chapel by Rev. Brockholst Levingston, 
on the occasion of the day. 

Sunday, 11th 
At home all day — dispatching some business rela- 
tive to my own private concerns.^^^ 
Age 58] 183 [1790 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

By the extracts from his diary, which we have 
quoted, it is seen that during the seven and a 
third months, from October 1 to May 9, of 
the thirty-two Sundays, Washington attended 
church on twenty -five of them. He also at- 
tended three times on week days, making twenty- 
eight times in all. He remained at home seven 
Sundays — three because he was not well, and 
two on account of stormy weather; the other 
two, apparently, because it was necessary to 
attend to private correspondence. Washington 
considered that his time during the week be- 
longed to public business, and, therefore, was 
obliged to attend to private matters on Sunday. 
It will be noticed from his diary that, after Sun- 
day, May 2, he did not attend church again for 
several weeks. He states that he became very 
ill on May 10 and was convalescent for several 
weeks, during which time his diary was sus- 
pended. As soon as he is able, he is again found 
in his place of worship on the last Sunday in June. 

No Sunday Visiting 
Though he had, as we have seen, paid a 
marked respect to the claims of the Sabbath 
throughout his previous life, there seemed to be, 
during his Presidency, an increased regard and 
deference for the same. Not only was he most 
punctual in his attendance on the public worship 
1790] 184 l^s® ^^ 



HOW WASHINGTON SPENT SUNDAY 

of God, whenever it was possible, but the dis- 
cipline of his house was strictly conformed to 
the obligations and proprieties of the day. It 
was an established rule of his mansion that visi- 
tors could not be admitted on Sundays. It is 
understood that an exception to the rule was 
made in the case of one individual, namely, Mr. 
Trumbull, speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives. He often spent an hour on Sunday even- 
ings with the President; and so entirely was the 
privilege confined to him that it was usual with 
the house servant when he heard the door-bell 
ring, on those evenings, to call it the "Speaker's 
bell." 

After spending a part of the day at church, 
and occasionally an hour in the evening with 
Mr. Trumbull, one of the most pious men of his 
age, the rest of the time preceding the hour of 
repose was occupied, as previously mentioned, 
by the President's reading to Mrs. Washington 
a sermon or a portion of the Holy Scriptures. ^^^ 

Church Subscriptions 

November 20, 1790, President Washington 
reminded his manager at Mount Vernon that 
on Monday the annual church subscriptions 
were due, mentioning among other items, ten 
pounds to the Rev. Thomas Davis, rector of 
Christ Church, Alexandria. ^^ 

Age 58] 185 [1790 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Church Attendance in New York 
While he resided in New York, Washington 
was a regular worshiper at St. Paul's Chapel and 
Trinity Episcopal Church, and he highly es- 
teemed Bishop Provoost, the rector of Trinity 
parish, not only as a clergyman, but because he 
had taken such a bold stand for his country dur- 
ing the Revolution. 



186 



CHAPTER XIV 

WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

The President was not only a regular atten- 
dant at church, but he was a communicant. This 
fact is conclusively established by the following 
creditable evidence: 

(1) Statement by Dr. Chapman 
The following extract is from a volume of ser- 
mons published in 1836 by the Rev. George 
Thomas Chapman, D.D. It is here given be- 
cause of the authenticity and conclusiveness of 
the testimony furnished by it: 

"He [George Washington] lived at a period 
when there were less verbal pretensions on the 
subject of religion, than have become exceed- 
ingly fashionable in modern times, and the con- 
sequence is that in his life we have more of the 
substance than the parade of piety. Still he was 
an open and avowed follower of the Lord of 
glory. From the lips of a lady of undoubted 
veracity, yet living [1835] and a worthy com- 
municant of the church, I received the interest- 
ing fact that soon after the close of the Revolu- 
tionary War she saw him partake of the conse- 
187 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

crated symbols of the body and blood of Christ, 
in Trinity Church, in the city of New York."232 

(2) Testimony of Major Popham 

Further direct testimony is given by Major 
Popham, a competent witness, as shown by the 
following extract from a letter of the Rev. Dr. 
Berrian, of New York, to Mrs. Jane Washington, 
of Mount Vernon, in answer to some inquiries 
about General Washington during his residence 
in New York as President of the United States : 

"About a fortnight since I was administering 
the communion to a sick daughter of Major 
Popham, and, after the service was over, hap- 
pening to speak on this subject, I was greatly 
rejoiced to obtain the information which you so 
earnestly desired. 

"Major Popham served under General Wash- 
ington during the Revolutionary War, and I 
believe he was brought as near to him as their 
difference of rank would admit, being himself a 
man of great respectability, and connected by 
marriage with the Morrises, one of the first fami- 
lies in the country. He has still an erect and 
military air, and a body but little broken at his 
advanced age. His memory does not seem to be 
impaired nor his mind to be enfeebled. "^^^ 

"To the above," says Bishop Meade, of the 
Episcopal Church, "I can add my own testi- 
188 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

mony, having in different ways become ac- 
quainted with the character of Major Popham, 
and having visited him about the same time 
mentioned by Dr. Berrian." 

(3) Extract from Major Popham's Letter 
TO Mrs. Jane Washington 

New York, March 14, 1839. 
My Dear Madam: You will doubtless be not a 
little surprised at receiving a letter from an individual 
whose name may possibly never have reached you; 
but an accidental circumstance has given me the 
extreme pleasure of introducing myself to your notice. 
In a conversation with the Reverend Doctor Berrian, 
a few days since, he informed me that he had lately 
paid a visit to Mount Vernon, and that Mrs. Wash- 
ington had expressed a wish to have a doubt re- 
moved from her mind, which had long oppressed 
her, as to the certainty of the General's having 
attended the communion while residing in the city of 
New York subsequent to the Revolution. As nearly 
all the remnants of those days are now sleeping with 
their fathers, it is not very probable that at this late 
day an individual can be found who could satisfy 
this pious wish of your virtuous heart except the 
writer. It was my great good fortune to have at- 
tended St. Paul's Church in this city with the General 
during the whole period of his residence in New 
York as President of the United States. The pew of 
Chief-Justice Morris was situated next to that of 
the President, close to whom I constantly sat in 
189 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Judge Morris's pew, and I am as confident as a mem- 
ory now laboring under the pressure of fourscore 
years and seven can make me, that the President had 
more than once — I beheve I may say often — at- 
tended at the sacramental table, at which I had the 
privilege and happiness to kneel with him. And I am 
aided in my associations by my elder daughter, who 
distinctly recollects her grandmamma — Mrs. Morris 
— often mentioned that fact with great pleasure. In- 
deed, I am further confirmed in my assurance by the 
perfect recollection of the President's uniform deport- 
ment during divine service in church. The steady 
seriousness of his manner, the solemn, audible, and 
subdued tone of voice in which he read and repeated 
the responses, the Chrisitan humility which over- 
spread and adorned the native dignity of the saviour 
of his country, at once exhibited him a pattern to all 
who had the honor of access to him. It was my good 
fortune, my dear madam, to have had frequent inter- 
course with him. It was my pride and boast to have 
seen him in various situations — in the flush of victory, 
in the field, and in the tent — in the church and at the 
altar, always himself, ever the same.^^* 

Church Attendance in Philadelphia 

(1) Testimony of Reverend E. C. M'Guire 

"In December, 1790, Congress met at Phila- 
delphia, and the President, of course, removed 
there [August 30, 1790]. His conduct con- 
tinued to be distinguished by the same uniform 

1790] 190 [Age 58 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

and punctual observance of religious duties 
which has always marked his life. He had a 
pew in Christ Church of that city, of which the 
venerable Bishop White was then the rector. 
During all the time that he was in the govern- 
ment Washington was punctual in his attend- 
ance on divine worship. His pew was seldom 
vacant when the weather would permit him to 
attend."235 

(2) Testimony of George Washington Parke 
Custis 

In regard to his habit at that time (writes the 
Rev. E. C. M'Guire, in 1835), the living grand- 
son of Mrs. Washington, Geo. W. P. Custis, Esq., 
of Arlington, Virginia, bears the following testi- 
mony: "On Sundays, unless the weather was 
uncommonly severe, the President and Mrs. 
Washington attended divine service at Christ 
Church; and in the evenings the President read 
to Mrs. Washington, in her chamber, a sermon, 
or some portion from the Sacred Writings. No 
visitors, with the exception of Mr. Speaker 
Trumbull, were admitted to the president's 
house on Sundays. "^^^ 

(3) Statement of Bishop White 
The Reverend WiHiam White, D.D., bishop 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Com- 
191 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

monwealth of Pennsylvania, was the rector of 
Christ Church when Washington resided in 
Philadelphia. In a letter to the Rev. B. B. C. 
Parker, November 28, 1832, he says: "The 
father of our country, as well during the Revolu- 
tionary War as in his Presidency, attended divine 
service in Christ Church in this city [Phila- 
delphia] except during one winter (1781-82), 
when, being here for the taking of measures with 
Congress towards the opening of the next cam- 
paign, he rented a house near St. Peter's Church, 
then in parochial union with Christ Church. 
During that season he attended regularly at 
St. Peter's. His behavior was always serious and 
attentive; but as your letter seems to intend an 
inquiry on the point of kneeling during service, I 
owe it to the truth to declare, that I never saw 
him in that attitude. During his Presidency 
our vestry provided him with a pew not ten 
yards in front of the desk. It was habitually 
occupied by himself, by Mrs. Washington, who 
was regularly a communicant, and by his sec- 
retaries. "^^^ 

The fact that Dr. White never saw Wash- 
ington kneel is of little consequence. The 
testimony of other worshipers is that he did 
kneel. A minister seldom knows the posture 
of individuals in his congregation during 
prayer. 

192 



tt- 










CHRIST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA 




ST. PAUL'S CHAPEL, NEW YORK 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

(4) Washington at Church 
"My next view of him was a nearer and more 
distinct one — it was as a worshiper. My 
parents, who were Episcopalians, had a front 
pew in the gallery of Christ Church, in Philadel- 
phia; and from that favorable post of observa- 
tion I noticed, in the middle aisle, a pew lined 
with crimson velvet fringed with gold, into which 
I saw a highly dignified gentleman enter, ac- 
companied by two others, younger than him- 
self, and most respectful in their deportment 
towards him. These as I have since learned, 
were members of his military family. I was 
but a young boy, and the impression, as I well 
remember, on my youthful mind was, that 
I had never seen so grand a gentleman before. 
Everybody else seemed to be of the same mind; 
for I do not consider it a slander on the very 
respectable congregation worshiping in that 
church to say that far more looks were fixed 
upon that pew than on the pulpit (unless, in- 
deed, it happened to be occupied by that most 
excellent and venerable of prelates, Bishop 
White). The deportment of Washington was 
reverent and attentive; his eyes, when not on 
the prayer-book, were on the officiating clergy- 
man, and no witless or irreverent worshiper 
could plead Washington's example. I have 
since been in the church at Alexandria, in Vir- 
193 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

ginia, which was his parish church — have 
handled the prayer-book he used, and seen his 
well-known autograph in front of his Bible; and 
here the same impression existed as to his regu- 
lar and exemplary attendance and demeanor. 
He could not always be present in the church at 
Philadelphia, in the afternoon, being pressed 
by the exigency of public affairs, which, in the 
mind of Washington, were ever held to be mat- 
ters of necessity. Hence he gave orders that 
in case certain important despatches were re- 
ceived during his attendance in church, they 
should be brought to him there; and I have seen 
them delivered into his hands. He opened 
them immediately, and deliberately and atten- 
tively read them through; then laying them on 
the seat by his side, he resumed his prayer-book, 
and, apparently, gave his mind to the solemni- 
ties of the place and the hour."^^^ 

(5) Takes Communion 
General Robert Porterfield, of Augusta, 
Georgia, was brigade-inspector under General 
Washington in the Revolution. His duties 
brought him in close contact with Washington. 
General S. H. Lewis, of Augusta County, 
Georgia, in a letter to the Rev. Mr. Dana, 
of Alexandria, Virginia, December 14, 1855, 
says that General Porterfield said to him: 
194 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

"General Washington was a pious man, and a 
member of your church [Episcopal]. I saw 
him myself on his knees receive the sacrament 
of the Lord's Supper in Church, in Phila- 
delphia. 

"He specified the time and place. My im- 
pression is that Christ Church was the place, 
and Bishop White, as he afterward was, the 
minister. This is, to the best of my recollec- 
tion, an accurate statement of what I heard 
from General Porterfield on the subject."239 

(6) Withdraws from Communion 
"It is certainly a fact," says Bishop Meade, of 
the Episcopal Church, "that for a certain period 
of time during his Presidential term, while Con- 
gress was held in Philadelphia, he did not com- 
mune. This fact rests on the authority of Bishop 
White, under whose ministry the President sat, 
and who was on the most intimate terms with 
himself and Mrs. Washington. I will relate 
what the Bishop told myself and others in rela- 
tion to it. During the session or sessions of 
Congress held in Philadelphia, General Wash- 
ington was, with his family, a regular attendant 
at one of the churches under the care of Bishop 
White and his assistants. On communion days, 
when the congregation was dismissed (except 
the portion which communed), the General left 
195 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the church, until a certain Sabbath on which 
Dr. Abercrombie, in his sermon, spoke of the 
impropriety of turning our backs on the Lord's 
table, that is, neglecting to commune; from 
which time General Washington came no more 
on communion days. Bishop White supposes 
that the General understood the words * turning 
our backs on the Lord's table' in a somewhat 
different sense than was designed by the 
preacher; that he supposed it was intended to 
censure those who left the church at the time of 
its administration, and in order not to seem to 
be disrespectful to that ordinance, thought it 
better not to be present at all on such occasions. 
It is needless to attempt to conjecture what may 
have been the reason of this temporary suspen- 
sion of the act of communicating. A regard for 
historic truth has led to the mention of this sub- 
ject. The question as to his ever having been a 
communicant has been raised on this fact, as 
stated by Bishop White, and we have thought it 
best to give the narrative as we heard it from 
the lips of the Bishop himself-''^^^ 

(7) Bishop Meade s Comment 

Referring to the foregoing statement of Bishop 

White, and the fact of Washington's withdrawing 

from the communion. Bishop Meade says: "He 

may have communed in Philadelphia on some 

196 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

occasion and yet not been seen by Bishop White, 
who had the care of two or three churches, at 
which he officiated alternately in conjunction 
with one or more ministers. He may have 
retired, and doubtelss did, at other times, and 
was seen by Bishop White. If it be asked how 
we can reconcile this leaving of the church at 
any time of the celebration of the Lord's Supper 
with a religious character, we reply by stating a 
well-known fact, viz. : that in former days there 
was a most mistaken notion, too prevalent both 
in England and America, that it was not so 
necessary in the professors of religion to com- 
municate at all times, but that in this respect 
persons might be regulated by their feelings, and 
perhaps by the circumstances in which they were 
placed. I have had occasion to see much of 
this in my researches into the habits of the mem- 
bers of the old Church of Virginia. Into this 
error of opinion and practice General Washing- 
ton may have fallen, especially at a time when 
he was peculiarly engaged with the cares of gov- 
ernment and a multiplicity of engagements, and 
when his piety may have suffered some loss 
thereby."24i 

Private Prayer 
During his residence in Philadelphia, as Presi- 
dent of the United States, it was the habit of 
Washington, winter and summer, to retire to his 
197 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

study at a certain hour every night. He usually 
did so at nine o'clock — always having a lighted 
candle in his hand, and closing the door care- 
fully after him. A youthful member of the 
household whose room was near the study, being 
just across the passage, observing this constant 
practice of the President, had his thoughts ex- 
cited in reference to the cause of so uniform a 
custom. Accordingly, on one occasion, in the in- 
dulgence of a juvenile curiosity, he looked into the 
room, some time after the President had gone in ; 
and to his surprise, saw him upon his knees at a 
small table, with a candle and open Bible thereon. 
In these facts we have all the evidence we 
could ask of his uniform attention to the divinely 
commanded observance of private prayer. The 
evidence too embraces a very large portion of 
his life. Our limited and partial information 
comprehends a period of forty years — that is, 
from his twenty-third to beyond his sixtieth year. 
It was his habit while engaged in the French 
and Indian war; it was so also during the Revo- 
lutionary War; and it was the same during his 
Presidential terms, and no doubt it was so to 
the end of his life.^"*^ 

Asked Blessing at Table 
He was in the habit of asking the divine bless- 
ing at his table, although, when a minister of the 
198 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

gospel was present, he requested him to officiate. 
The late venerable Dr. Ashabel Green, who was 
one of the chaplains of Congress from 1792 to 
1800, says, "It was the usage under President 
Washington's administration, that the chap- 
lains of Congress should dine with him once in 
every month, when Congress was in session." 
He mentions, "that the place of the chaplain 
was directly opposite to the President. The 
company stood while the blessing was asked, 
and on a certain occasion, the President's mind 
was probably occupied with some interesting con- 
cern, and on going to the table he began to ask a 
blessing himself. He uttered but a word or two, 
when, bowing to me," says Dr. Green, "he re- 
quested me to proceed, which I accordingly did. 
I mention this," he continues, "because it shows 
that President Washington always asked a bless- 
ing himself when a chaplain was not present. "^'^^ 

In some reminiscences of Washington by the 
Rev. Ashabel Green, we learn that "he always, 
unless a clergyman was present, at his own 
table, asked a blessing, in a standing posture. 
If a clergyman was present, he was requested 
both to ask a blessing and to return thanks after 
dinner."244 

Temperance 
(1) His Personal Habits 

The "Temperance Cause," as such, had never 
199 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

been heard of in Washington's day, yet he was 
strictly temperate. "Not only was he addicted 
to no kind of intemperance, scarcely ever tasting 
ardent spirits or exceeding two glasses of wine — 
which was equal to total abstinence in our day — 
and not using tobacco in any shape, but he used 
his authority in the army to the utmost to put 
down swearing, games of chance, and drinking, 
and irregularities of every kind."^"^^ 

(2) His Views 
In a letter to one of his overseers, Washington 
gives emphatic expression of his views regarding 
the use of intoxicating liquors, as follows: 

I shall not close this letter without exhorting you 
to refrain from spirituous liquors; they will prove 
your ruin if you do not. Consider how little a 
drunken man differs from a beast; the latter is not 
endowed with reason, the former deprives himself of 
it; and when that is the case, acts like a brute, annoy- 
ing and disturbing every one around him; nor is this 
all, nor, as it respects himself, the worst of it. By 
degrees it renders a person feeble, and not only un- 
able to serve others but to help himself; and being 
an act of his own, he falls from a state of usefulness 
into contempt, and at length suffers, if not perishes, 
in penury and want. 

Don't let this be your case. Show yourself more of 
a man and a Christian than to yield to so intolerable 
a vice, which cannot, I am certain (to the greatest 
^00 



i;! 



WASHINGTON A COMMUNICANT 

lover of liquor), give more pleasure to sip in the 
poison (for it is no better) than the consequence of 
it in bad behavior at the moment, and the more 
serious evils produced by it afterwards, must give 
pain. 

I am your Friend, 

George Washington. ^*^ 

Attends Dutch Reformed Church 
In his diary we find the following for Sunday, 
July 3, 1791, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania: 

"There being no Episcopal minister present 
in this place, I went to hear morning service per- 
formed in the Dutch Reformed Church — which, 
being in that language not a word of which I 
understood, I was in no danger of becoming a 
proselyte to its religion by the eloquence of the 
preacher. "^^^ 

Letter to LaFayette 
Writing to the Marquis LaFayette, July 28, 
1791, concerning the revolutionary troubles in 
France, he says, "We must, however, place a 
confidence in that Providence who rules events, 
trusting that out of confusion He will produce 
order, and, notwithstanding the dark clouds 
which may threaten at present, that right will 
ultimately be established. "^^^ 

On the Death of a Child 
September 8, 1791, President Washington 

Age 59] 201 [1791 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

wrote to General and Mrs. Knox on the death 
of their child, who had been named for him. 
On this occasion, as on every other when oppor- 
tunity offered, he gave assurance of his abiding 
faith in God. He said: "He that gave, you 
know, has the right to take way. His ways are 
wise — they are inscrutable — and irresistible. "^^^ 



1791] 202 l^g« ^^ 



CHAPTER XV 

DID WASHINGTON SWEAR? 

In relation to what is sometimes said about 
the paroxysms of passion and terrible swearing 
of General Washington, a complete account of 
the particular instance which has been so 
grossly magnified and distorted, is of much 
interest. It was when Washington received the 
news of General St. Clair's defeat by the Indians, 
which occurred November 4, 1791. 

(1) Statement by His Private Secretary 
The following extract from a synopsis of Gen- 
eral Washington's private letters to his secre- 
tary, Mr. Tobias Lear, by the Hon. Richard 
Rush, of Philadelphia, will throw some light on 
the subject : 

"An anecdote I derived from Colonel Lear 
shortly before his death in 1816 may here be 
related, showing the height to which his [Gen- 
eral Washington's] passion would rise, yet be 
controlled. It belongs to his domestic life 
which I am dealing with, having occurred under 
his own roof, whilst it marks public feeling the 
most intense ftnd points to the moral of his life. 

Age 59] 203 U791 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

I give it in Colonel Lear's words as nearly as I 
can, having made a note of them at the time. 

"Toward the close of a winter's day in 1791, 
an officer in uniform was seen to dismount in 
front of the President's in Philadelphia, and, 
giving the bridle to his servant, knock at the 
door of his mansion. Learning from the porter 
that the President was at dinner, he said he was 
on public business and had dispatches for the 
President. A servant was sent into the dining 
room to give the information to Mr. Lear, who 
left the table and went into the hall, when the 
officer repeated what he had said. Mr. Lear 
replied that, as the President's secretary, he 
would take charge of the dispatches and deliver 
them at the proper time. The officer made 
answer that he had just arrived from the West- 
ern army, and his orders were to deliver it with 
all promptitude, and to the President in person; 
but that he would wait his directions. Mr. Lear 
returned, and in a whisper imparted to the Presi- 
dent what had passed. General Washington 
rose from the table and went to the officer. He 
was back in a short time, made a word of apology 
for his absence, but no allusion to the cause of it. 
He had company that day. Everything went 
on as usual. Dinner over, the gentlemen passed 
into the drawing room of Mrs. Washington, 
which was open in the evening. The General 

1791] 204 [Age 59 



DID WASHINGTON SWEAR? 

spoke courteously to every lady in the room, as 
was his custom. His hours were early, and by 
ten all the company had gone. Mrs. Washing- 
ton and Mr. Lear remained. Soon Mrs. Wash- 
ington left the room. The General now walked 
backward and forward slowly for some minutes 
without speaking. Then he sat down on a sofa 
by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To 
this moment there had been no change in his 
manner since his interruption at table. Mr. 
Lear now perceived emotion. This rising in 
him, he broke out suddenly: ^Ifs all over — St, 
Clair's defeated, routed; the officers nearly all 
killed, the men by wholesale; the rout complete — 
too shocking to think of — and a surprise into the 
bargain !' 

"He uttered all this with great vehemence, 
then he paused, got up from the sofa and walked 
about the room several times, agitated, but 
saying nothing. Near the door he stopped 
short and stood still for a few seconds, when his 
wrath became terrible. 

" ^Yes,' he burst forth, 'here, on this very spot, 
I took leave of him: I wished him success and 
honor. ''You have your instructions,'' I said, 
''from the Secretary of War; I had a strict eye to 
them, and will add but one word — beware of a 
surprise! / repeat it, BEWARE OF A SUR- 
PRISE; you know how the Indians fight us." He 

Age 59] 205 [1791 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

went off with that as my last solemn warning 
thrown into his ears. And yet! to suffer that army 
to be cut to pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked, 
by a surprise — the very thing I guarded him 
against! God, God, he's worse than a mur- 
derer! How can he answer it to his country? The 
blood of the slain is upon him — the curse of the 
widows and orphans — the curse of Heaven!' 

"This torrent came out in tones appalling. 
His very frame shook. 'It was awful,' said Mr. 
Lear. More than once he threw his hands up as 
he hurled imprecations upon St. Clair. Mr. 
Lear remained speechless, awed into breathless 
silence. 

"The roused chief sat down on the sofa once 
more. He seemed conscious of his passion, and 
uncomfortable. He was silent. His warmth be- 
ginning to subside, he at length said in an altered 
voice, 'This must not go beyond this room.' 
Another pause followed — a longer one — when 
he said in a tone quite low: ^General St, Clair 
shall have justice; I looked hastily through the dis- 
patches, saw the whole disaster, but not all the par- 
ticulars. I will receive him without displeasure; 
I will hear him urithout prejudice; he shall have 
full justice.' 

" 'He was now,' said Mr. Lear, 'perfectly 
calm.' Half an hour had gone by. The storm 
was over; and no sign of it was afterwards seen 

1791] 206 (Age 59 



DID WASHINGTON SWEAR? 

in his conduct or heard in his conversation. 
The whole case was investigated by Congress. 
St. Clair was exculpated, and regained the con- 
fidence Washington had in him when appointing 
him to that command. He had put himself into 
the thickest of the fight and escaped unhurt, 
though so ill as to be carried on a litter, and un- 
able to mount his horse without help."^^^ 

(2) Bishop Meade's Comment 
"In relation to the above, let it be granted 
that Mr. Lear (who did not sympathize with 
General Washington's religious opinions), after 
the lapse of more than twenty years, retained an 
accurate recollection of all his words, and that 
Mr. Rush fully understood them and truly 
recorded them, as doubtless he did; yet what do 
they amount to? Is the exclamation, 'O God! 
O God !' under his aroused feelings, that swearing 
since imputed to him, but which from his youth 
up he had so emphatically condemned in his sol- 
diers as impious and ungentlemanly?"^^^ 

(3) Testimony of Nephews 
The Rev. Dr. M'Guire of Fredericksburg, Vir- 
ginia, while preparing his volume on the Re- 
ligious Opinions and Character of Washington, 
having heard this report emanating from some of 
the enemies of Washington and too readily ad- 
207 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

mitted by some of his friends, made a particular 
inquiry of Mr. Robert Lewis (his father-in-law), 
of Fredericksburg, and Mr. Laurence Lewis, of 
Woodlawn, Virginia, two gentlemen as compe- 
tent to know the private habits of Washington 
as any others in the land. They were nephews 
of General Washington. The former lived in 
the family of Washington for some time as pri- 
vate secretary; the latter was his near neighbor, 
living on a farm given him by the General. Both 
of them were men of the highest character, and 
pious members of the Episcopal Church, and 
both declared that they had never heard an 
oath from the lips of their uncle. ^^^ 

(4) Testimony of General Porterfield 

In a letter of General S. H. Lewis, referred to 
on p. 194 telling of a conversation with General 
Robert Porterfield, he says: "I remarked that 

I had lately heard Mr. say, on the 

authority of Mr. , that General Washing- 
ton was subject to violent fits of passion, and 
that he swore terribly. General Porterfield 
said the charge was false; that he had known 
General Washington personally for many years, 
and had never heard him swear an oath, or in 
any way to profane the name of God. *Tell 

Mr. for me,' said he, *that he had 

much better be reading his Bible than repeat- 
208 



DID WASHINGTON SWEAR? 

ing such slanders on the character of General 
Washington.' "253 

(5) Rebukes Swearing 

So far back as 1756 we find him endeavoring 
to impress upon the soldiers under his command 
a profound reverence for the name and the 
majesty of God, and repeatedly, in his public 
orders during the Revolution, the inexcusable 
offense of profaneness was rebuked. 

On a certain occasion he had invited a number 
of oflficers to dine with him. While at table 
one of them uttered an oath. General Wash- 
ington dropped his knife and fork in a moment, 
and in his deep undertone, and characteristic 
dignity and deliberation, said, "I thought that 
we all supposed ourselves gentlemen." He then 
resumed his knife and fork and went on as be- 
fore. The remark struck like an electric shock, 
and, as was intended, did execution, as his ob- 
servations in such cases were apt to do. No 
person swore at the table after that. When 
dinner was over, the officer referred to said to a 
companion that if the General had given him a 
blow over the head with his sword, he could have 
borne it, but that the home thrust which he 
received was too much — it was too much for a 
gentleman I^^^ 



209 



CHAPTER XVI 

RELIGION INDISPENSABLE TO POLITI- 
CAL PROSPERITY 

God Alone Able to Protect United States 
Writing from Philadelphia to John Arm- 
strong, March 11, 1792, he says: 

I am sure there never was a people who had more 
reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their 
affairs than those of the United States, and I should 
be pained to believe that they had forgotten that 
agency, which was so often manifested during our 
Revolution, or that they failed to consider the 
omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to pro- 
tect them.2" 

Trusts God for Guidance 
Edmund Randolph, attorney-general, had 
written Washington, urging him to accept a re- 
election. Writing from Mount Vernon, Sunday, 
August 26, 1792, Washington said, "But as the 
All-wise Disposer of events has hitherto watched 
over our steps, I trust that, in the important one 
I may soon be called upon to take, he will mark 

the course so plainly that I cannot mistake the 
way."256 

1792] 210 [Age 60 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

Deprecates Religious Disputes 
Writing from Philadelphia to Sir Edward 
Newenham, October 20, 1792, he says: 

Of all the animosities which have existed among 
mankind, those which are caused by a difference of 
sentiments in religion appear to be the most invet- 
erate and distressing, and ought most to be depre- 
cated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and lib- 
eral policy which has marked the present age would 
at least have reconciled Christians of every denomi- 
nation so far that we should never again see their 
religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to en- 
danger the peace of society. ^^^ 

Gift to Charity 
Following the terrible epidemic of yellow 
fever, the President wrote to William White, 
Bishop of Pennsylvania, December 31, 1793, 
concerning a contribution for the relief of the 
needy in Philadelphia, as follows: 

It has been my intention ever since my return to 
the city, to contribute my mite towards the relief of 
the most needy inhabitants of it. The pressure of 
public business hitherto has suspended but not 
altered my resolution. I am at a loss, however, for 
whose benefit to apply the little I can give, and in 
whose hands to place it; whether for the use of the 
fatherless children and widows, made so by the late 
calamity, who may find it difficult, whilst provisions, 
wood, and other necessaries are so dear, to support 
Age 60] 211 [1^92 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

themselves; or to other and better purposes, if any, 
I know not, and therefore have taken the hberty of 
asking your advice. 

I persuade myself justice will be done to my mo- 
tives for giving you this trouble. To obtain informa- 
tion, and to render the little I can, without ostenta- 
tion or mention of my name, are the sole objects of 
these inquiries. ^^^ 

Donation for the Education of Orphan 
Children 

February 24, 1794, the President writes to the 
Rev. James Muir, pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church at Alexandria, Virginia, in regard to his 
annual subscription to the Orphan School under 
the care of Mr. Muir, as follows: 

I have received your letter of the 12th instant, and 
will direct my manager, Mr. Pearce, to pay my an- 
nual donation for the education of orphan children, 
or the children of indigent parents, who are unable to 
be at the expense themselves. 

I had pleasure in appropriating this money to such 
uses, as I always shall in that of paying it. I con- 
fess, however, I should derive satisfaction from know- 
ing what children have heretofore received the bene- 
fit of it, and who are now in the enjoyment thereof. 

Never, since the commencement of this institution, 
have I received the least information, except in a 
single instance, on this head, although application 
for it to individuals has been frequently made. As 
1794] 212 tAge 62 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

you, Sir, appear to be in the exercise of this trust, let 
me pray you to have the goodness to gratify this 
wish of mine. 

In reply to this letter, Mr. Muir gave a par- 
ticular account of each of the children who were 
assisted in their education by President Wash- 
ington's donation to the school. They were 
mostly from the poorest class, and some of them 
entirely destitute of any other aid. For many 
years he had given fifty pounds (two hundred 
and fifty dollars) a year for this purpose, which 
he continued till his death; and by will he left 
to the trustees of the Academy in the town of 
Alexandria four thousand dollars, "towards the 
support of a free school, established at, and an- 
nexed to, the said Academy, for the purpose of 
educating orphan children, or the children of 
such poor and indigent persons, as are unable to 
accomplish it by their own means." This sum 
was bequeathed in perpetuity, and the income 
only for the time being was to be appropriated 
by the trustees. ^^^ 

On the same day, February 24, 1794, Wash- 
ington wrote to his manager, William J^earce, 
"Enclosed you will find three bajfc notes 
of one hundred dollars each; out of%. which 
pay the Rev. Mr. Muir, of Alexandria, fifty 
pounds, and take his signature to the enclosed 

receipt. "^^° 

Age 62] 213 [1794 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

God Knows Best 
In a letter written from Philadelphia to his 
manager, Mr. William Pearce, on Sunday, May 
25, 1794, concerning injury to crops by the 
drought, he says, "At disappointments and 
losses which are the effects of Providential acts, 
I never repine; because I am sure the all wise 
Disposer of events knows better than we do 
what is best for us, or what we deserve. "^^^ 

Attends Presbyterian Church 
On a trip to the western part of Pennsylvania 
in connection with the "Whiskey Rebellion,'' he 
spends a Sunday, October 5, 1794, at Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania. The following entry is found in 
his diary: "Went to the Presbyterian Meeting 
and heard Doctor Davidson preach a political 
sermon, recommendatory of order and good gov- 
ernment; and the excellence of that of the 
United States."262 

Speech to Congress 
He closes a speech to both Houses of Con- 
gress, November 19, 1794, saying: 

Let us unite, therefore, in imploring the Supreme 
Ruler of nations to spread His holy protection over 
these United States; to turn the machinations of the 
wicked to the confirming of our constitution; to en- 
able us at all times to root out internal sedition, and 
1794] 214, [Age 62 



r 




PORTRAIT OP WASHINGTON 

Painted from life in 1794. In Masonic uniform. 
Original painting in Masonic Lodge, Alexandria, Va. 

Mrs. Washington said after his death that it was the 
best picture of him, showing the real Washington, not 
the idealized Washington. 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

put invasion to flight; to perpetuate to our country 
that prosperity, which His goodness has already con- 
ferred; and to verify the anticipations of this gov- 
ernment being a safeguard to human rights. ^^^ 

Second National Thanksgiving 
The Proclamation for a second National 
Thanksgiving was issued January 1, 1795, as 
follows : 

When we review the calamities which aflflict so 
many other nations, the present condition of the 
United States affords much matter of consolation 
and satisfaction. Our exemption hitherto from for- 
eign war, and increasing prospect of the continuance 
of that exemption, the great degree of internal tran- 
quillity we have enjoyed, the recent confirmation of 
that tranquillity by the suppression of an insurrec- 
tion, which so wantonly threatened it, the happy 
course of our public affairs in general, the unexam- 
pled prosperity of all classes of our citizens, are cir- 
cumstances which peculiarly mark our situation with 
indications of the Divine Beneficence towards us. 
In such a state of things it is in an especial manner 
our duty as a people, with devout reverence and af- 
fectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and 
great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore 
Him to continue and confirm the blessings we ex- 
perience. 

Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George 
Washington, President of the United States, do rec- 
ommend to ail religious societies and denominations, 
Age 63] 215 U795 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

and to all persons whomsoever within the United 
States, to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th 
day of February next, as a day of public thansksgiv- 
ing and prayer, and on that day to meet together and 
render their sincere and hearty thanks to the Great 
Ruler of nations for the manifold and signal mercies 
which distinguish our lot as a nation; particularly 
for the possession of constitutions of government, 
which unite, and by their union establish, hberty 
with order; for the preservation of our peace, foreign 
and domestic; for the seasonable control which has 
been given to a spirit of disorder in the suppression 
of the late insurrection; and, generally, for the pros- 
perous course of our affairs public and private; and at 
the same time humbly and fervently to beseech the 
kind Author of those blessings graciously to prolong 
them to us; to imprint on our hearts a deep and sol- 
emn sense of our obligations to Him for them; to 
teach us rightly to estimate their immense value; to 
preserve us from the arrogance of prosperity, and 
from hazarding the advantages we enjoy by the de- 
lusive pursuits, to dispose us to merit the continu- 
ance of His favors by not abusing them, by our grati- 
tude for them, and by a correspondent conduct as 
citizens and as men; to render this country more and 
more a safe and propitious asylum for the unfortu- 
nate of other countries; to extend among us true and 
useful knowledge; to diffuse and establish habits of 
sobriety, order, morality, and piety; and finally to 
impart all the blessings we possess, or ask for our- 
selves, to the whole family of mankind. 
1796] 216 [Age 63 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

In testimony whereof, I have caused the seal of the 
United States of America to be affixed to these pres- 
ents, and signed the same with my hand. Done at 
the city of Philadelphia, this first day of January, 
one thousand seven hundred and ninty-five and of 
the independence of the United States of America 
the nineteenth.^^^ 

Observes Thanksgiving Day 
Thursday, February 19, 1795, being the day 
appointed for "public thanksgiving and prayer," 
President Washington attends service in Christ 
Church.26^ 

Speech to Congress 
A speech to both Houses of Congress, De- 
cember 8, 1795, begins as follows: 

I trust I do not deceive myself while I indulge the 
persuasion that I have never met you at any period 
when, more than at present, the situation of our 
public affairs has afforded just cause for mutual 
congratulation,^ and for inviting you to join with 
me in profound gratitude to the Author of all good, 
for the numerous and extraordinary blessings we 
enjoy. ^^^ 

Religion Indispensable to Political Pros- 
perity 
September 17, 1796, President Washington 
issued what is known as his Farewell Address to 

Age 63] 217 [1795 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the people of the United States. The following 
extracts show his deep religious spirit: 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to 
..^ political prosperity, Religion and Morality are in- 
dispensable supports. In vain would that man 
claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to 
subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these 
firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. 
The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, 
ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume 
could not trace all their connections with private and 
public felicity. Let it simply be asked. Where is the 
security for property, for reputation, for life, if the 
sense of religious obligation desert the oaths which 
are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Jus- 
V tice? And let us with caution indulge the supposi- 

tion that morality can be maintained without religion. 
Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined 
education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and 
experience both forbid us to expect that national 
morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. 

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a 
necessary spring of popular government. The rule, 
indeed, extends with more or less force to every 
species of free government. Who, that is a sincere 
friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts 
to shake the foundation of the fabric? 

Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; 
cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and 
Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be that good 
1796] glS [Age 64 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy 
of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a 
great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous 
and too novel example of a people always guided by 
an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt, 
that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of 
such a plan would richly repay any temporary ad- 
vantages, which might be lost by a steady adherence 
to it? Can it be that Providence has not connected 
the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue? 
The experiment, at least, is recommended by every 
sentiment which ennobles human nature.^®'^ 

The Great High Priest of the Nation 
"No candid man can read these and other ex- 
pressions in the public addresses of Washing- 
ton, without acknowledging that, as though he 
were the great high priest of the nation, availing 
himself of his position and of the confidence 
reposed in him, he was raising his warning voice 
against that infidelity which was desolating 
France and threatening our own land." 

"Is is too much to say that the communica- 
tions of no king, ruler, general, or statesman in 
Christendom," except Abraham Lincoln, "ever 
so abounded in expressions of pious dependence 
on God?"268 

Letter to Adopted Son in School 
Extract from a letter to George Washington 

Age 64] 219 11796 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Parke Custis, his adopted son, written from 
Philadelphia, November 28, 1796, showing the 
high value he places upon religious obligations: 
The assurances you give me of applying diligently 
to your studies, and fulfilling those obligations which 
are enjoined by your Creator and due to His creatures, 
are highly pleasing and satisfactory to me. I rejoice 
in it on two accounts; first, as it is the sure means of 
laying the foundation of your own happiness, and 
rendering you, if it should please God to spare your 
life, a useful member of society hereafter; and 
secondly, that I may, if I live to enjoy the pleasure, 
reflect that I have been, in some degree, instrumental 
in affecting these purposes.^^^ 

Last Speech to Congress 
He begins his last speech to both Houses of 
Congress, December 7, 1796, saying: 

In recurring to the internal situation of our coun- 
try, since I last had the pleasure to address you, I 
find ample reason for a renewed expression of that 
gratitude to the Ruler of the Universe, which a con- 
tinued series of prosperity has so often and so justly 
called forth. 

He closes by saying: 

The situation in which I now stand, for the last 
time, in the midst of the representatives of the people 
of the United States, naturally recalls the period 
when the administration of the present form of gov- 
1796] 220 I^^ge 64 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

ernment commenced; and I cannot omit the occasion 
to congratulate you and my country, on the success 
of the experiment, nor to repeat my fervent suppHca- 
tions to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe and Sov- 
ereign Arbiter of the United States, that the virtue 
and happiness of the people may be preserved; and 
that the government, which they have instituted 
for the protection of their liberties, may be per- 
petual.270 

Another Letter to His Adopted Son 
Writing from Philadelphia to George Wash- 
ington Parke Custis, December 19, 1796, he em- 
phasizes again "duties to God and man": 

But as you are well acquainted with my sentiments 
on this subject, and you know how anxious all your 
friends are to see you enter upon the grand theatre of 
life, with the advantages of a finished education, a 
highly cultivated mind, and a proper sense of your 
duties to God and man, I shall only add one sentiment 
more before I close this letter (which, as I have others 
to write, will hardly be in time for the mail), and that 
is, to pay due respect and obedience to your tutors, 
and affectionate reverence to the president of the 
college, whose character merits your highest re- 
gards. ^^^ 

Address of Philadelphia Clergy 
(1) Written by the Rev. Ashabel Green, D,D. 
"On the 4th of March [1797], when he carried 

Age 64] 221 [1796 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

into effect his purpose of retirement, which he 
had previously announced, the city clergy 
waited on him with an address; which, with his 
answer, was published in the newspapers of the 
day. Mr. Jefferson, in a letter pubHshed after 
his death, speaks of the design of this address, 
and of the character of its answer, as indicating 
that Washington was suspected of infidelity, 
and broadly intimates that such a suspicion was 
just. As to the design of the address, I may be 
allowed to say that Mr. Jefferson's remarks are 
incorrect, since by the appointment of my cleri- 
cal brethren, it was penned by myself, and I 
have not a doubt that the whole imputation is 
utterly groundless."^^^ 

(2) The Address to Washington 

The address shows how the clergy regarded 
Washington's religious character. It is as fol- 
lows: 

To George Washington, President of the United 

States : 

On this day, which becomes important in the an- 
nals of America, as marking the close of a splendid 
public life devoted for near half a century to the 
service of your country, we, the undersigned clergy of 
different denominations residing in and near the city 
of Philadelphia, beg leave to join the voice of our 
fellow-citizens, in expressing a deep sense of your 
1797] 222 fAge 65 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

public services, in every department of trust and 
authority committed to you. But in our special 
character as ministers of the gospel of Christ, we are 
more immediately bound to acknowledge the coun- 
tenance which you have uniformly given to His holy 
religion. 

In your public character we have uniformly beheld 
the edifying example of a civil ruler always acknowl- 
edging the superintendence of divine Providence in the 
affairs of men; and confirming that example by the {/ 
powerful recommendation of religion and morality, 
as the firmest basis of social happiness — more espe- 
cially in the following language of your affectionate 
parting address to your fellow-citizens: 

**0f all the dispositions and habits which lead to 
political prosperity, religion and morality are indis- 
pensable supports. In vain would that man claim 
the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert 
these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest 
props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere 
politician, equally with the pious man, ought to re- 
spect and to cherish them. A volume could not 
trace all their connections with private and public 
felicity. Let us with caution indulge the supposition 
that morality can be maintained without religion. 
Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that 
national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious 
principles." 

Should the importance of these just and pious sen- 
timents be duly appreciated and regarded, we con- 
fidently trust that the prayers you have offered for 
Age 651 223 ^^'^^'^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

the prosperity of our common country will be 
answered. In these prayers we most fervently unite; 
and with equal fervor we join in those which the 
numerous public bodies that represent the citizens 
of these States are offering for their beloved chief. 
We most devoutly implore the divine blessing to 
attend you in your retirement, to make it in all 
respects comfortable to you, to satisfy you with 
length of days; and finally to receive you into hap- 
piness and glory infinitely greater than this world 
can bestow. 2^^ 

This address was signed by William White 
(Episcopal bishop), Ashabel Green, and twenty- 
three other ministers. 

(3) Washington's Reply 

Not to acknowledge, with gratitude and sensibility, 
the affectionate addresses and benevolent wishes of 
my fellow-citizens on my retiring from public life 
would prove that I have been unworthy of the confi- 
dence which they have been pleased to repose in me. 

And among those public testimonies of attachment 
and approbation none can be more grateful than that 
of so respectable a body as yours. 

Believing, as I do, that Religion and Morality are 
the essential pillars of civil society, I view with un- 
speakable pleasure that harmony and brotherly love 
which characterizes the clergy of different denomina- 
tions, as well in this as in other parts of the United 
States, exhibiting to the world a new and interesting 
1797] 224, [Age 65 



RELIGION INDISPENSABLE 

spectacle, at once the pride of our country and the 
surest basis of universal harmony. 

That your labors for the good of mankind may be 
crowned with success, that your temporal employ- 
ments may be commensurate with your merits, and 
that the future reward of good and faithful servants 
may be yours, I shall not cease to supplicate the 
Divine Author of life and felicity."* 



Age 65] 225 11797 



CHAPTER XVII 

EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

Forsakes Not the House of God 
Even down to his old age the Sabbath day 
finds him in his place in church. In his diary 
is this entry: "1798. Sunday, September 30 — 
Went to Church in Alexandria. "^^^ 

Letter to President Adams 
In a letter dated Mount Vernon, July 13, 
1798, to John Adams, President of the United 
States, General Washington said: 

Satisfied, therefore, that you have sincerely wished 
and endeavored to avert war, and exhausted, to the 
last drop, the cup of reconciliation, we can, with pure 
hearts, appeal to Heaven for the justice of our 
cause; and may confidently trust the final result to 
that kind Providence who has, heretofore, and so 
often, signally favored the people of these United 
States. 276 

Will Not Sell Slaves 
August 17, 1799, General Washington wrote 
his nephew Robert Lewis in regard to slavery, 
saying: 

1798] ggg [Age 66 



EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

To sell the overplus I cannot because I am preju- 
diced against this kind of traflBc in the human species; 
to hire them out is almost as bad, because they can- 
not be disposed of in families to any advantage, and 
to divide families I have an aversion. ^^^ 

Death of His Brother 
Sunday, September 22, 1799, he writes to 
Colonel Burgess Ball concerning the death of 
his [Washington's] brother, the last of the fam- 
ily except himself, as follows: 

Your letter of the 16th inst. has been received, in- 
forming me of the death of my brother [Charles]. 

The death of relations always produces awful and 
affecting emotions under whatever circumstances it 
may happen. That of my brother has been long ex- 
pected; and his latter days, so uncomfortable to 
himself, must have prepared all around him for the 
stroke, though painful in effect. 

I was the first, and am, now, the last of my father's 
children, by the second marriage, who remain. 

When I shall be called upon to follow them is 
known only to the Giver of Life. When the summons 
comes I shall endeavor to obey it with a good grace. ^^^ 

Attends Christ Church Again 
After his retirement from the chair of state, 
Washington still continued his religious habits 
in spirit and practice. The church in Alexan- 
dria was again his place of worship. The dis- 

Age 67] 227 [1799 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

tance, indeed, was ten miles, and yet his pew 
was seldom unoccupied on the Lord's Day.^^^ 

Washington at Church in Alexandria 
Reverend M'Guire, Episcopal rector at Fred- 
ericksburg, Virginia, says that, many years since 
[this was written in 1835], he had the following 
circumstances from a valued female friend, in 
relation to the churchgoing habit of the Ex- 
President : 

"In the summer of 1799," said Mrs. M., "I 
was in Alexandria, on a visit to the family of 
Mr. H., with whom I was connected by the ties 
of relationship. Whilst there I expressed a 
wish to see General Washington, as I had never 
enjoyed that pleasure. My friend, Mrs. H., 
observed, *You will certainly see him on Sunday, 
as he is never absent from church when he can 
get there; and as he often dines with us, we will 
ask him on that day, when you will have a better 
opportunity of seeing him.' Accordingly, we 
all repaired to church on Sunday, and seated in 
Mr. H.'s large double pew, I kept my eyes upon 
the door, looking for the venerable form of him 
I had so long desired to see. Many persons 
entered the doors, but none came up to my im- 
pressions of General Washington's appearance. 
At length, a person of noble and majestic figure 
entered, and the conviction was instantaneous 

1799] 228 [Age 67 



EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

that I beheld the Father of his Country. It 
was so! — ^my friend at that moment intimated 
the fact to me. He walked to his pew, at the 
upper part of the church, and demeaned himself 
throughout the services of the day with that 
gravity and propriety becoming the place and 
his own high character. After the services were 
concluded we waited for him at the door, for his 
pew being near the pulpit he was among the 
last that came out — when Mrs. H. invited him 
to dine with us. He declined, however, the in- 
vitation, observing, as he looked at the sky, that 
he thought there were appearances of a thunder- 
storm in the afternoon, and he believed he 
would return home for dinner." 

This occurrence is introduced, not for any 
peculiar interest belonging to it, but merely 
for confirmation: showing the punctuality and 
conscientiousness with which Washington at- 
tended to the duty in question, even to old age. 
He was now within six months of his death, 
having reached his sixty-eighth year; and yet 
he is not to be detained on the Sabbath from 
the house of God, either by distance or the fer- 
vors of a summer sun.^^ 

Private Devotions 

"It may most positively be affirmed that the 
impression on the minds of his family was that 
Age 67] 229 [1799 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

when on each night he regularly took his candle 
and went to his study at nine o'clock and re- 
mained there until ten, it was for the purpose of 
reading the Scriptures and prayer. It is af- 
firmed by more than one that he has been seen 
there on his knees and also been heard at his 
prayers. In like manner it is believed that 
when at five o'clock each morning, winter and 
summer, he went to that same study, a portion of 
time was then spent in the same way. It is also 
well known that it was the impression in the 
army that Washington, either in his tent or in 
his room, practiced the same thing. One testi- 
fies to having seen him on more than one occa- 
sion thus engaged on his bended knees. It is 
firmly believed that when in crowded lodgings at 
Valley Forge, where everything was unfavor- 
able to private devotions, his frequent visits to 
a neighboring wood were for this purpose. It is 
also a fact well known to the family that, when 
prevented from public worship, he used to read 
the Scriptures and other books with Mrs. Wash- 
ington in her chamber."^^^ 

Grace at Table 

Washington's religious habits were the same 

in private life as when he occupied his official 

position. The artist. Sharpies, who spent some 

time at Mount Vernon painting Washington's 

230 



EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

picture, says: "I take all my meals with the 
Chief at Mount Vernon; they are most elegantly 
served, but without the least profusion, and the 
attendance is of military precision. I observed 
that we never partook of food without the Gen- 
eral offering grace to the Giver, so also at the 
close of every repast. "^^^ 

Impressed by a Dream 
For several months before his death Washing- 
ton appears to have had at times a presentiment 
of near approaching death. July 9th he exe- 
cuted his last will and testament. He seems to 
have communicated his forebodings to Mrs. 
Washington, who, when she was recovering from 
a severe illness, wrote to a kinswoman in New 
Kent, Virginia, September 18, 1799: 

"At midsummer the General had a dream so 
deeply impressed on his mind that he could not 
shake it off for several days. He dreamed that 
he and I were sitting in the summer-house, con- 
versing about the happy life we had spent, and 
looking forward to many more years on the 
earth, when suddenly there was a great light all 
around us, and then an almost invisible figure 
of a sweet angel stood by my side and whispered 
in my ear. I suddenly turned pale and then 
began to vanish from his sight and he was left 
alone. I had just risen from the bed when he 

Age 67] ^31 [1799 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

awoke and told me his dream, saying, *You 
know a contrary result indicated by dreams may 
be expected. I may soon leave you,^ I tried 
to drive from his mind the sadness that had 
taken possession of it, by laughing at the ab- 
surdity of being disturbed by an idle dream, 
which, at the worst, indicated that I would not 
be taken from him; but I could not, and it was 
not until after dinner that he recovered any 
cheerfulness. I found in the library, a few days 
afterwards, some scraps of paper which showed 
that he had been making a Will, and had copied 
it. When I was so very sick, lately, I thought 
of this dream, and concluded my time had come, 
and that I should be taken first. "^^^ 

"I Die Hard" 

About five o'clock [Saturday, December 14, 
1799] Dr. Craik [the family physician] came 
again into the room, and, upon going to the 
bedside, the General said to him, "Doctor, I die 
hard, but I am not afraid to go."^^^ 

"Not Afraid to Die" 
Silent and sad his physicians sat by his bed- 
side, looking on him as he lay panting for breath. 
They thought on the past, and the tears welled 
in their eyes. He marked it, and, stretching 
out his hand to them, and shaking his head, said, 

1799] 030 [Age 67 



EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

"0 no! don't! donV then with a delightful smile 
he added, "I am dying, gentlemen, but, thank 
God, I am not afraid to die/'^ss 

"For My Good" 
Once or twice he was heard to say, "I should 
have been glad, had it pleased God, to die a 
little easier, but I doubt not it is for my good/'^se 

Wished to Be Left Alone 
"Feeling that the hour of his departure out 
of this world was at hand, he desired that every- 
body would quit the room. They all went out; 
and, according to his wish, left him — with his 
God. 

"There, by himself, like Moses alone on the 
top of Pisgah, he seeks the face of God."^^^ 

It seems that he desired to be alone a little 
while for private prayer. 

" 'Tis Well" 

His secretary, Tobias Lear, says that "about 
ten o'clock he made several attempts to speak 
to me before he could effect it. At length he 
said: 'I am just going. Have me decently 
buried; and do not let my body be put into 
the vault in less than three days after I am 
dead.' 

"I bowed assent, for I could not speak. He 
Age 67J 233 ^^'^^^ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

then looked at me again and said: *Do you 
understand me?' 

"I replied, *Yes!' 

" ' 'Tis well,' said he/'^ss 

Last Words of Washington 
"Feeling that the silver cord of life is loosing, 
and that his spirit is ready to quit her old com- 
panion, the body, he extends himself on his bed 
— closes his eyes for the last time with his own 
hands — folds his arms decently on his breast, 
then breathing out, *Father of mercies, take me 
to thyself,' — ^he falls asleep. "^^^ 

Submission to the Divine Will 
"He expired in the sixty-eighth year of his age, 
and in full possession of his mental faculties; ex- 
hibiting in his short and painful illness, and in 
his death, the same example of patience, forti- 
tude, and submission to the divine will, which he 
had shown in all the acts of his life."-^° 

Mrs. Washington in Prayer 
Mrs. Washington's grandson, who lived at 
Mount Vernon, says: "In that last hour, prayer 
was not wanting at the throne of grace. Close 
to the couch of the sufferer, resting her head 
upon that ancient book, with which she had 
been wont to hold pious communion a portion of 

1799] 234 tAge 67 



EVEN DOWN TO OLD AGE 

every day for more than half a century, was the 
venerable consort pVirs. Washington] absorbed 
in silent prayer. "2^^ 

" 'Tis Well" 

At the moment of her husband's departure, 
Mrs. Washington, having arisen from her knees, 
was sitting near the foot of the bed, where she 
had been much of the time for almost twenty- 
four hours. 

"While we were all fixed in silent grief," 
wrote Mr. Lear, "Mrs. Washington asked, with 
a firm and collected voice, 'Is he gone?' I 
could not speak, but held up my hand as a 
signal that he was no more. ' 'Tis well,' she 
said in the same voice; *all is now over. I shall 
soon follow him; I have no more trials to pass 
through.' "292 

Mrs. Washington's Daily Devotions 
Mrs. Washington's grandson, who was adopted 
by Mr. Washington when he was six months 
old, and who was in his nineteenth year when 
Washington died, says of his grandmother's life- 
long habit: "After breakfast she retired for an 
hour to her chamber, which hour was spent in 
prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures, a prac- 
tice that she never omitted during half a century 
of her varied life."^^^ 

Age 67] 235 [1799 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Death of Mrs. Washington 
Her grandson gives the following account of 
her death: 

"In a little more than two years from the 
demise of the chief Mrs. Washington became 
alarmingly ill from an attack of bilious fever. 
From her advanced age, the sorrow that had 
preyed upon her spirits, and the severity of the 
attack, the family physician gave but little hope 
of a favorable issue. The lady herself was per- 
fectly aware that her hour was nigh; she as- 
sembled her grandchildren at her bedside, dis- 
coursed to them on their respective duties 
through life, spoke of the happy influence of re- 
ligion upon the affairs of this world, of the con- 
solations they had afforded her in many and try- 
ing afflictions, and the hopes that they held out 
of a blessed immortality; and then, surrounded 
by her weeping relatives, friends, and domestics, 
the venerable relict of Washington resigned her 
life into the hands of her Creator, in the seventy- 
first year of her age."^^^ 



236 



CHAPTER XVIII 
WASHINGTON'S WILL 

Probably there is no better index to a man's 
life and the secret of his heart than his "last will 
and testament," when he calmly faces death 
and the realities of the hereafter. In the final 
accounting of his stewardship, his true character 
is manifested. 

Four items in his will are of special interest at 
this time, as they indicate his benevolent char- 
acter: 

(1) Gives Bible 

"To the reverend, now Bryan Lord Fairfax, I 
give a Bible, in three large folio volumes, with notes 
presented to me by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Wilson, 
bishop of Sodor and Man."^^^ 

(2) Provides for Release of Debt and 

Slaves 
*'Item. — ^The balance due me from the estate of 
Bartholomew Dandridge, deceased (my wife's brother), 
and which amounted, on the first day of October, 
1795, to 425 1. [pounds] (as will appear by an account 
rendered by his deceased son, John Dandridge, who 
was the acting executor of his father's will), I release 
and acquit from the payment thereof. And the 
^37 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

negroes (then 33 in number) formerly belonging to 
the said estate, who were taken in execution, sold, 

and purchased in on my account, in the year , 

and ever since have remained in the possession and to 
the use of Mary, widow of the said Earth. Dan- 
dridge, with their increase, it is my will and desire, 
shall continue and be in her possession, without pay- 
ing any hire, or making compensation for the same, 
for the time past or to come, during her natural life; 
at the expiration of which, I direct, that all of them 
who are 40 years old and upwards, shall receive their 
freedom; all under that age and above 16, shall serve 
seven years, and no longer; and all under 16 years, 
shall serve until they are 25 years of age, and then 
be free. And to avoid disputes respecting the ages 
of any of these negroes, they are to be taken into the 
court of the county in which they reside, and the 
judgment thereof, in this relation, shall be final and 
record made thereof, which may be adduced as evi- 
dence at any time thereafter, if disputes should arise 
concerning the same. And I further direct, that the 
heirs of the said Barth. Dandridge shall equally 
share the benefits arising from the services of the said 
negroes, according to the tenor of this devise, upon 
the decease of their mother. "^^^ 

(3) Provides for Freedom of Slaves 

^'Itern. — Upon the decease of my wife, it is my will 
and desire, that all the slaves which I hold in my own 
right, shall receive their freedom. To emancipate 
them during her life, would, though earnestly wished 



WASHINGTON'S WILL 

by me, be attended with such insuperable diflScul- 
ties, on account of their intermixture by marriages with 
the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sen- 
sations, if not disagreeable consequences to the latter, 
while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the 
same proprietor; it not being in my power, under 
the tenure by which the dower negroes are held, to 
manumit them. And whereas, among those who 
will receive freedom according to this devise, there 
may be some who, from old age or bodily infirmities, 
and others who, on account of their infancy, will be 
unable to support themselves, it is my will and desire, 
that all who come under the first and second descrip- 
tion, shall be comfortably clothed and fed by my 
heirs while they live; and that such of the latter de- 
scription as have no parents living, or, if living, are 
unable or unwilling to provide for them, shall be 
bound by the court until they shall arrive at the age 
of 25 years; and in cases where no record can be pro- 
duced, whereby their ages can be ascertained, the 
judgment of the court, upon its own view of the sub- 
ject, shall be adequate and final. The negroes thus 
bound, are, (by their masters or mistresses,) to be 
taught to read and write, and be brought up to some 
useful occupation, agreeably to the laws of the com- 
monwealth of Virgina, providing for the support of 
orphan and other poor children. And I do hereby 
expressly forbid the sale or transportation out of the 
said commonwealth of any slave I may die possessed 
of, under any pretence whatsoever. And I do more- 
over most pointedly and most solemnly enjoin it upon 
239 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

my executors hereafter named, or the survivors of 
them, to see that this clause respecting slaves, and 
every part thereof, be religiously fulfilled at the 
epoch at which it is directed to take place, without 
evasion, neglect, or delay, after the crops which may 
then be on the ground are harvested, particularly 
as it respects the aged and infirm; seeing that a regu- 
lar and permanent fund be established for their sup- 
port as long as they are subjects requiring it, not 
trusting to the uncertain provisions made by indi- 
viduals. — And, to my mulatto man, William (calling 
himself William Lee) I give immediate freedom, or 
if he should prefer it, (on account of the accidents 
which have befallen him, and which have rendered 
him incapable of walking, or of any active employ- 
ment,) to remain in the situation he now is, it shall 
be optional in him to do so; in either case, however, 
I allow him an annuity of 30 dollars during his nat- 
ural life, which shall be independent of the victuals 
and clothes he has been accustomed to receive, if he 
chooses the latter alternative; but in full with his 
freedom, if he prefers the first; and this I give him as 
a testimony of my sense of his attachment to me, 

and for his faithful services during the revolutionary 
war."297 

(4) Bequest to Academy at Alexandria 

**Item. — ^To the trustees, governors, or by whatso- 
ever other name they may be designated, of the 
academy in the town of Alexandria, I give and be- 
queath, in trust, four thousand dollars, or in other 
MO 



WASHINGTON'S WILL 

words, twenty of the shares which I hold in the bank 
of Alexandria, toward the support of a free school, 
established at, and annexed to the said academy, for 
the purpose of educating orphan children, or the 
children of such other poor and indigent persons as 
are unable to accomplish it with their own means, 
and who, in the judgment of the trustees of the said 
seminary, are best entitled to the benefit of this 
donation. The aforesaid twenty shares I give and 
bequeath in perpetuity, the dividends only of which 
are to be drawn for, and applied by the said trustees, 
for the time being, for the uses above mentioned, the 
stock to remain entire and untouched, unless indica- 
tions of failure of the said bank should be so apparent, 
or a discontinuance thereof shall render a removal of 
this fund necessary. In either of these cases, the 
amount of the stock here devised is to be vested in 
some other bank or public institution, whereby the 
interest may with regularity and certainty be drawn 
and applied as above. And, to prevent misconcep- 
tion, my meaning is, and is hereby declared to be, 
that these twenty shares are in lieu of, and not in 
addition to, the 1000 pounds given by a missive let- 
ter some years ago, in consequence whereof an an- 
nuity of 50 pounds has since been paid towards the 
support of this institution. "^^^ 



241 



CHAPTER XIX 

HIS RELIGIOUS HABITS 

No attempt has been made to group the 
facts in Washington's religious life so as to 
emphasize any particular phase. We have fol- 
lowed him step by step, and year by year, 
letting him speak and act for himself. The 
careful student cannot fail to be impressed 
with the continuity and steady development of 
his religious character, and the fullness of its 
expression throughout his whole life. The 
evidence is all in. The reader is the judge. 
Some corroborative testimony and the opin- 
ions of others may help to form a right con- 
clusion. 

A Letter by Miss Nelly Custis 

I shall here insert a letter on this subject, 
written to the historian Jared Sparks, by Nelly 
Custis, who lived twenty years in Washington's 
family, and who was his adopted "daughter, and 
the granddaughter of Mrs. Washington. The 
testimony it affords, and the hints it contains 
respecting the domestic habits of Washington, 
are interesting and valuable. 

2n 



HIS RELIGIOUS HABITS 

WooDLAWN, 26 February, 1833. 
Sir: 

I received your favor of the 20th instant last even- 
ing, and hasten to give you the information which 
you desire 

Truro Parish is the one in which Mount Vernon, 
Pohick Church, and Woodlawn are situated. Fair- 
fax Parish is now Alexandria. Before the Federal 
District was ceded to Congress Alexandria was in 
Fairfax County. General Washington had a pew 
in Pohick Church, and one in Christ Church at Alex- 
andria. He was very instrumental in establishing 
Pohick Church, and I believe subscribed largely. 
His pew was near the pulpit. I have a perfect recol- 
lection of being there, before his election to the presi- 
dency, with him and my grandmother. It was a 
beautiful church, and had a large, respectable and 
wealthy congregation, who were regular attendants. 

He attended the church at Alexandria when the 
weather and roads permitted a ride of ten miles. In 
New York and Philadelphia he never omitted attend- 
ance at church in the morning, unless detained by 
indisposition. The afternoon was spent in his own 
room at home; the evening with his family, and with- 
out company. Sometimes an old and intimate 
friend called to see us for an hour or two; but visiting 
and visitors were prohibited for that day. No one 
in church attended to the service with more reveren- 
tial respect. My grandmother, who was eminently 
pious, never deviated from her early habits. She 
always knelt. The General, as was then the custom, 
243 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

stood during the devotional parts of the service. On 
communion Sundays he left the church with me, 
after the blessing, and returned home, and we sent 
the carriage back for my grandmother. 

It was his custom to retire to his library at nine or 
ten o'clock, where he remained an hour before he 
went to his chamber. He always rose before the 
sun, and remained in his library until called for 
breakfast. I never witnessed his private devotions. 
I never inquired about them. I should have thought 
it the greatest heresy to doubt his firm belief in 
Christianity. His life, his writings, prove that he 
was a Christian. He was not one of those who act 
or pray, "that they may be seen of men." He com- 
muned with his God in secret. 

My mother resided two years at Mount Vernon, 
after her marriage with John Parke Custis, the only 
son of Mrs. Washington. I have heard her say that 
General Washington always received the sacrament 
with my grandmother before the Revolution. When 
my aunt, Miss Custis, died suddenly at Mount Ver- 
non, before they could realize the event, he knelt by 
her and prayed most fervently, most affectingly, for 
her recovery. Of this I was assured by Judge 
Washington's mother, and other witnesses. 

He was a silent, thoughtful man. He spoke little 
generally; never of himself. I never heard him re- 
late a single act of his life during the war. I have 
often seen him perfectly abstracted, his lips moving, 
but no sound was perceptible. I have sometimes 
made him laugh most heartily from sympathy with 
244 



HIS RELIGIOUS HABITS 

my joyous and extravagant spirits. I was, prob- 
ably, one of the last persons on earth to whom he 
would have addressed serious conversation, particu- 
larly when he knew that I had the most perfect model 
of female excellence ever with me as my monitress, 
who acted the part of a tender and devoted parent, 
loving me as only a mother can love, and never ex- 
tenuating or approving in me what she disapproved 
in others. She never omitted her private devotions, 
or her public duties; and she and her husband were 
so perfectly united and happy that he must have 
been a Christian. She had no doubts, no fears for 
him. After forty years of devoted affection and un- 
interrupted happiness, she resigned him without a 
murmur into the arms of his Saviour and his God, 
with the assured hope of eternal felicity. Is it neces- 
sary that any one should certify, "General Washing- 
ton avowed himself to me a believer in Christianity''? 
As well may we question his patriotism, his heroic, 
disinterested devotion to his country. His mottoes 
were, ''Deeds, Not Words''; and, 'Tor God and My 

Country.'* 

With sentiments of esteem, 

I am, etc.2^^ 

Testimony of Mr. Robert Lewis 
Mr. Jared Sparks, the historian, adds the fol- 
lowing: 

"It seems propei to subjoin to this letter what 
was told to me by Mr. Robert Lewis, at Fred- 
U5 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

ericksburg, in the year 1827. Being a nephew 
of Washington, and his private secretary during 
the first part of his presidency, Mr. Lewis Hved 
with him on terms of intimacy, and had the best 
opportunity for observing his habits. Mr. Lewis 
said he had accidentally witnessed his private 
devotions in his library both morning and even- 
ing; that on those occasions he had seen him in 
a kneeling posture with a Bible open before him, 
and that he believed such to have been his daily 
practice. Mr. Lewis is since dead, but he was 
a gentleman esteemed for his private worth and 
respectability. I relate the anecdote as he told 
it to me, understanding at the time that he 
was willing it should be made public on his 
authority. He added, that it was the Presi- 
dent's custom to go to his library in the morn- 
V "^ ing at four o'clock, and that, after his devotions, 
he usually spent his time till breakfast in writ- 
ing letters."3oo 

A Letter by Bishop White 
The following letter from the venerable Bishop 
White was written to the Rev. B. C. C. Parker, 
then rector of Trinity Church in Lenox, Massa- 
chusetts : 

Philadelphia, 28 November, 1832. 
Dear Sir: 

I have received your letter of the 20th instant, 
246 



HIS RELIGIOUS HABITS 

and will furnish you with what information I possess 
on the subject of it. 

[The first paragraph of this letter is quoted on 

page 238.] 

Although I was often in company with this great 
man, and had the honor of dining often at his table, 
I never heard anything from him which could mani- 
fest his opinions on the subject of religion. I knew 
no man who so carefully guarded against the dis- 
coursing of himself, or of his acts, or of any thing that 
pertained to him; and it has occasionally occurred to 
me when in his company that, if a stranger to his 
person were present, he would never have known 
from anything said by the President that he was con- 
scious of having distinguished himself in the eye of 
the world. His ordinary behavior, although excep- 
tionally courteous, was not such as to encourage 
obtrusion on what he had on his mind. 

Within a few days of his leaving the Presidential 
chair our vestry waited on him with an address, pre- 
pared and delivered by me. In his answer he was 
pleased to express himself gratified by what he had 
heard from our pulpit; but there was nothing that 
committed him relatively to religious theory. With- 
in a day or two of the above there was another ad- 
dress by many ministers of different persuasions, 
being prepared by Doctor Green and delivered by 
me. It has been a subject of opposite statements, 
owing to a passage in the posthumous works of Mr. 
Jefferson. He says (giving Doctor Rush for his 
author, who is said to have it from Doctor Green), 
247 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

that the said address was intended to elicit the opin- 
ion of the President on the subject of the Christian 
reHgion. Doctor Green has denied this in his period- 
ical work called ''The Christian Advocate^'' and his 
statement is correct. Doctor Rush may have mis- 
understood Doctor Green, or the former may have 
been misunderstood by Mr. Jefferson; or the whole 
may have originated with some individual of the 
assembled ministers, who mistook his own concep- 
tions for the sense of the body. The said two docu- 
ments are in the Philadelphia newspapers of the time. 

On a thanksgiving day, appointed by the President 
for the suppression of the Western insurrection, I 
preached in his presence. The subject was the Con- 
nection between Religion and Civil Happiness. It 
was misrepresented in one of our newspapers. This 
induced the publishing of the sermon, with a dedica- 
tion to the President, pointedly pleading his pro- 
clamation in favor of the connection affirmed. It 
did not appear that he disallowed the use made of 
his name. Although, in my estimation, entire sepa- 
ration between Christianity and civil government 
would be a relinquishment of religion in the abstract; 
yet, that this was the sentiment of the President, 
which may have been, I have no light positively to 
infer. 

There do not occur to me any other particulars 
meeting your inquiry, confined to my knowledge. 
Accordingly I conclude with writing myself, very 
respectfully, your humble servant, 

William White.^°^ 
S48 



HIS RELIGIOUS HABITS 

Claimed to Be a Churchman 
When Washington was passing through Litch- 
field, Connecticut, during the war, there was 
some desecration of the church, recalHng the 
treatment of the cathedral in old Litchfield, 
England, by the soldiers of Cromwell. Wash- 
ington himself saw some of his soldiers throw a 
shower of stones at the church, and at once 
rebuked them. He did not put forward the 
merely just argument that such acts were dis- 
orderly, but he put his personal feeling into what 
he said: "I am a churchman, and wish not to see 
the church dishonored and desolated in this 



249 



CHAPTER XX 

ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

Sermons and orations by divines and states- 
men were delivered all over the land at the death 
of Washington. A large volume of such was 
published. I have seen and read them, and the 
religious character of Washington was a most 
prominent feature in them; and for this there 
must have been some good cause. "That Wash- 
ington was regarded throughout America, both 
among our military and political men, as a sin- 
cere believer in Christianity, as then received 
among us, and a devout man, is as clear as any 
fact in our history."^"^ 

Declarations of His Contemporaries 
(1) Major-General Henry Lee 

Major-General Henry Lee, member of Con- 
gress from Virginia, who served under him dur- 
ing the war, and afterward in the civil depart- 
ment, and who was chosen by Congress to de- 
liver his funeral oration, Thursday, December 26, 
1799, at Philadelphia, in the German Lutheran 
Church, says in that oration: "First in war, first 
in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- 
250 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

men, he was second to none in the humble and 
endearing scenes of private life. Pious, just, 
humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dig- 
nified, and commanding, his example was edify- 
ing to all around him, as were the effects of that 
example lasting. "^^^ 

(2) Jonathan Mitchell Sewall 

On Tuesday, December 31, 1799, Jonathan 
Mitchell Sewall delivered an oration at Ports- 
mouth, New Hampshire, at the request of the 
inhabitants, in which he says : 

"To crown all these moral virtues, he had the 
deepest sense of religion impressed on his heart — 
the true foundation-stone of all the moral virtues. 

"This he constantly manifested on all proper 
occasions. He was a firm believer in the Chris- 
tian religion; and, at his first entrance on his 
civil administration he made it known, and ad- 
hered to his purpose, that no secular business 
could be transacted with him on the day set 
apart by Christians for the worship of Deity. 

"Though he was, from principle, a member of 
the Episcopal Church, he was candid and liberal 
in the highest degree, not only to all sects and 
denominations of Christians but to all religions, 
where the possessors were sincere, throughout 
the world. 

"He constantly attended the public worship 
251 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

of God on the Lord's Day, was communicant at 
His table, and, by his devout and solemn deport- 
ment, inspired every beholder with some portion 
of that awe and reverence for the Supreme 
Being of which he felt so large a portion. 

"For my own part, I trust I shall never lose 
the impression made on my own mind in behold- 
ing in this Jbiouse of prayer [see page 176], the 
venerable hero, the victorious leader of our 
hosts, bending in humble adoration to the God 
of armies, and great Captain of our salvation. 
Hard and unfeeling indeed must that heart be 
that could sustain the sight unmoved, or its 
owner depart unsoftened and unedified. 

"Let the deist reflect on this, and remember 
that Washington, the saviour of his country, did 
not disdain to acknowledge and adore a great 
Saviour, whom deists and infidels affect to 
slight and despise."^^^ 

(3) Reverend John Thornton Kirkland 

In a discourse on the death of Washington, 
delivered by the Rev. John Thornton Kirkland, 
minister of the New South Church, Boston, 
Massachusetts, December 29, 1799, he says: 
"The virtues of our departed friend were 
crowned with piety. He is known to have been 
habitually devout. To Christian institutions he 
gave the countenance of his example; and no one 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

could express more fully his sense of the Provi- 
dence of God, and the dependence of man."^°^ 

(4) Captain Josiah Dunham 
Josiah Dunham, Captain of the 16th U. S. 

Regiment of the Revolution, in his funeral ora- 
tion pronounced at Oxford, Massachusetts, at 
the request of the field oflBcers of the brigade, 
stationed at that place, on the 15th of January, 
1800, says of him: "A friend to our holy reli- 
gion, he was ever guided by its pious doctrines. 
He had embraced the tenets of the Episcopal 
Church; yet his charity, unbounded as his im- 
mortal mind, led him equally to respect every 
denomination of the followers of Jesus."^^^ 

(5) The Hon. David Ramsay 

The Hon. David Ramsay, M.D., of South 
Carolina, the historian, in his oration on the 
death of Washington, delivered at Charleston, 
South Carolina, on January 15, 1800, at the 
request of the inhabitants, says: "He was the 
friend of morality and religion; steadily at- 
tended on public worship; encouraged and 
strengthened the hands of the clergy. In all his 
public acts he made the most respectful mention 
of Providence, and, in a word, carried the spirit 
of piety with him, both in his private life and 
public administration. He was far from being 
253 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

one of those minute philosophers who believe 
that 'death is an eternal sleep;' or, of those, 
who, trusting to the sufficiency of human reason, 
discard the light of divine revelation. "^^^ 

(6) The Rev. John M, Mason, D.D. 
The Rev. Doctor John M. Mason, pastor of 
the Associate Reformed Church in the city of 
New York, in the funeral eulogy delivered by 
appointment of a number of the clergy of New 
York City, February 22, 1800, uses this lan- 
guage: "That invisible hand which guarded him 
at first continued to guard and to guide him 
through the successive stages of the Revolution. 
Nor did he account it a weakness to bend the 
knee in homage to its supremacy, and prayer for 
its direction. This was the armor of Washing- 
ton, this the salvation of his country. "^°^ 

(7) Jeremiah Smith 
In an oration delivered by Jeremiah Smith at 
Exeter, New Hampshire, February 22, 1800, he 
says: 

"He had all the genuine mildness of Chris- 
tianity with all its force. He was neither os- 
tentatious, nor ashamed of his Christian profes- 
sion. He pursued in this, as in every thing else, 
the happy mean between the extremes of levity 
and gloominess, indifference and austerity. His 
254 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

religion became him. He brought it with him 
into office, and he did not lose it there. His 
first and his last official acts (as he did all the 
intermediate ones) contained an explicit ac- 
knowledgment of the overruling providence of 
the Supreme Being; and the most fervent sup- 
plication for His benediction on our government 
and nation. 

"Without being charged with exaggeration, 
I may be permitted to say, that an accurate 
knowledge of his life, while it would confer on 
him the highest title to praise, would be pro- 
ductive of the most solid advantage to the cause 
of Christianity."3io 

(8) President Timothy Dwight 
Timothy Dwight, D.D., president of Yale 
College, in a discourse on "The Character of 
Washington," February 22, 1800, says: "For 
my own part, I have considered his numerous 
and uniform public and most solemn declara- 
tions of his high veneration for religion, his ex- 
emplary and edifying attention to public wor- 
ship, and his constancy in secret devotion, as 
proofs, sufficient to satisfy every person, willing 
to be satisfied. I shall only add that if he was 
not a Christian, he was more like one than any 
man of the same descriptioi^ whose life has been 
hitherto recorded."^^^ 

255 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

(9) Reverend Devereux Jarratt 
In an address delivered by the Rev. Devereux 
Jarratt, in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, he says: 
"Washington was a professor of Christianity 
and a member of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church. He always acknowledged the super- 
intendence of Divine Providence; and from his 
inimitable writings we find him a warm advo- 
cate for a sound morality founded on the prin- 
ciples of religion, the only basis on which it can 
stand. Nor did I ever meet with the most dis- 
tant insinuation that his private life was not a 
comment on his own admired page."^^^ 

Testimony of an English Sympathizer 
The testimony of the Rev. Jonathan Boucher, 
who, to say the least, was not prejudiced in favor 
of Washington, is very interesting. He was a 
minister in the Episcopal Church at Annapolis, 
Maryland. During the first six months of 1775 
he always preached with a pair of loaded pistols 
lying on the cushion in front of him; and indeed, 
with no aid from fire arms, he was well known to 
be more than a match for any single member of 
his congregation. He opposed the independ- 
ence of the colonies, and returned to England 
in 1775. He was for a time private tutor to 
John Parke Custis, the son of Mrs. Washington. 
His acquaintance with Washington was prior to 
256 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

the Revolution, and, in his own words, he "did 
know Washington well." In 1776 he writes 
concerning him: "In his moral character he is 
regular, temperate, strictly just and honest (ex- 
cept that as a Virginian he has lately found out 
that there is no moral turpitude in not paying 
what he confesses he owes to a British creditor), 
and, I always thought, religious; having hereto- 
fore been pretty constant and even exemplary 
in his attendance on public worship in the 
Church of England/'^is 

Such was his character, "that even in England 
not one reflection was ever cast, or the least dis- 
respectful word uttered against him."^^^ 

Testimony of Others 

(1) President Madison 
President Madison says, "Washington was 

constant in the observance of worship, accord- 
ing to the received forms of the Episcopal 
Church."3i5 

(2) RoheH C, Winthrop 

Robert C. Winthrop, acknowledging the re- 
ceipt of the Rev. Philip Slaughter's oration on 
Washington, says, "It confirms all my opinions 
of the character of Washington, and leaves no 
loop to hang a doubt upon that Christianity was 
the key to that character."^^^ 
257 



-y 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

(3) Bushrod Washington 
Washington bequeathed Mount Vernon, four 
thousand acres, including the Mansion House 
to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, who after- 
wards became a judge of the Supreme Court of 
the United States. In 1826 the latter was 
elected a vice-president of the American Sunday 
School Union. In replying to an address he 
said, "Upon the well-intended efforts I have 
made to secure the due observance of the Sab- 
bath day, upon a spot, where, I am persuaded, 
it was never violated during the life and with 
the permission of its venerable owner."^^^ 

Tradition of the New York Indians 
The New York Indians hold this tradition of 
Washington: "Alone, of all white men, he has 
been admitted to the Indian Heaven, because of 
his justice to the Red Men. He lives in a great 
palace, built like a fort. All the Indians, as they 
go to Heaven, pass by, and he himself is in his 
uniform, a sword at his side, walking to and fro. 
They bow reverently with great humility. He 
returns the salute, but says nothing." Such is 
the reward of his justice to the Red Man.'^^^ 

Abraham and Washington 
The Rev. Israel Evans was a chaplain in the 
United States army through nearly the entire 
^58 



; I 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

Revolutionary service. He was a native of New 
Jersey, a man of education, and capable of ap- 
preciating such a character as that of Washing- 
ton. The opportunities he enjoyed for social 
intercourse with him, as well as with other 
patriots of the Revolution, were very frequent 
and favorable, and his reverence for Washington 
was very great. 

"It is related of Mr. Evans that during his last 
sickness, thirty years or more after the Revolu- 
tion, his successor in the ministry, in the New 
England village where he had been settled, was 
called in by the family to pray with him, in the 
evident near approach of the dying hour. Mr. 
Evans had lain some considerable time in a 
stupor, apparently unconscious of anything 
around him, and his brother clergyman was pro- 
ceeding in a fervent prayer to God, that, as his 
servant was evidently about departing this 
mortal life, his spirit might be conveyed by 
angels to Abraham's bosom. Just at this point, 
the dying man for the first time and for the 
moment revived, so far as to utter, in an interval 
of his delirium, ^and Washington s, too' — and 
then sunk again into apparent unconsciousness. 
As if it was not enough to *have Abraham to his 
father,' and on whose bosom to repose, but he 
must have Washington, too, on whom to lean. 
A signal manifestation of *the ruling passion 
259 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

strong in death' — and of the lasting hold which 
that great man had on the mind and heart of 
one of his early and devoted friends."^^^ 

Judgment of Historians 

(1) Mason L. Weems 

"The noblest, the most efficient element of his 

character was that he was an humble, earnest 
Christian."32o 

(2) Aaron Bancroft 
"In principle and practice he was a Chris- 
tianr^^^ 

(3) Cyrus R. Edmonds 
"The elements of his greatness are chiefly to 
be discovered in the moral features of his charac- 
ter."322 

(4) John Marshall 

Chief Justice John Marshall, who had been 
the personal friend and frequent associate of 
Washington, says in his biography, "Without 
making ostentatious professions of religion, he 
was a sincere believer in the Christian faith, and 
a truly devout man."^^^ 

(5) George Bancroft 

"Belief in God and trust in His overruling 
power, formed the essence of his character. . . . 
His whole being was one continued act of faith 
in the eternal, intelligent and moral order of the 
universe. "^^"^ 

260 



ESTIMATE OF HIS CHARACTER 

(6) Jared Sparks 
"A Christian in faith and practice, he was 
habitually devout. His reverence for religion is 
seen in his example, his public communications, 
and his private writings. He uniformly as- 
cribed his successes to the beneficent agency of 
the Supreme Being. Charitable and humane, he 
was liberal to the poor and kind to those in dis- 
tress. As a husband, son, and brother, he was 
tender and affectionate. "^^^ 

"If a man spoke, wrote, and acted as a Chris- 
tian through a long life, who gave numerous 
proofs of his beheving himseK to be such, and 
who was never known to say, write or do a thing 
contrary to his professions, if such a man is not 
to be ranked among the behevers of Christianity, 
it would be impossible to establish the point by 
any train of reasoning. ... 

"After a long and minute examination of the 
writings of Washington, public and private, in 
print and in manuscript, I can affirm that I have 
never seen a single hint or expression from which 
it could be inferred that he had any doubt of 
the Christian revelation, or that he thought with 
indifference or unconcern of that subject. On 
the contrary, whenever he approaches it, and, 
indeed, whenever he alludes in any manner to 
religion, it is done with seriousness and rever- 
ence."326 

261 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE VERDICT 

(1) David Ramsay 
Doctor David Ramsay was a celebrated phy- 
sician of Charleston, South Carolina. He was 
a delegate to the Continental Congress in 
1782-86. In his biography of Washington, one 
of the best ever published, he says: "There are 
few men of any kind, and still fewer of those the 
world calls great, who have not some of their 
virtues eclipsed by corresponding vices. But 
this was not the case with General Washington. 
He had religion without austerity, dignity with- 
out pride, modesty without diffidence, courage 
without rashness, politeness without affectation, 
affability without familiarity. His private char- 
acter, as well as his public one, will bear the 
strictest scrutiny. He was punctual in all his 
engagements; upright and honest in his dealings; 
temperate in his enjoyments; liberal and hos- 
pitable to an eminent degree; a lover of order; 
systematical and methodical in his arrange- 
ments. He was a friend of morality and re- 
ligion; steadily attended on public worship; en- 
couraged and strengthened the hands of the 
262 



\ / 



THE VERDICT 

clergy. In all his public acts he made the most 
respectful mention of Providence; and, in a 
word, carried the spirit of piety with him both 
in his private life and public administration. "^^^ 

(2) James K. Paulding 
"It is impossible to read the speeches and let- 
ters of Washington and follow his whole course 
of life, without receiving the conviction of his 
steady, rational, and exalted piety. Every- 
where he places his chief reliance, in the diffi- 
cult, almost hopeless circumstances in which he 
was so often involved, on the justice of that 
great Being who holds the fate of men and of 
nations in the hollow of His hand. His hopes 
for his country are always founded on the right- 
eousness of its cause, and the blessing of Heaven. 
His was the belief of reason and revelation; and 
that belief was illustrated and exemplified in all 
his actions. No parade accompanied its exer- 
cises, no declamation its exhibition; for it was 
his opinion that a man who is always boasting of 
his religion, is like one who continually proclaims 
his honesty — ^he would trust neither one nor the 
other. He was not accustomed to argue points 
of faith, but on one occasion, in reply to a gentle- 
man who expressed doubts on the subject, thus 
gave his sentiments: 

" 'It is impossible to account for the creation 
263 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

of the universe without the agency of a Supreme 
Being. 

" 'It is impossible to govern the universe with- 
out the aid of a Supreme Being. 

" *It is impossible to reason without arriving 
at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary 
to reason as reason is to religion. The one can- 
not exist without the other. A reasoning being 
would lose his reason in attempting to account 
for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a 
Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been 
said, that if there had been no God, mankind 
would have been obliged to imagine one.' "^^^ 

"On this basis of piety was erected the super- 
structure of his virtues. He perceived the har- 
monious affinity subsisting between the ■ duties 
we owe to Heaven and those we are called upon 
to sustain on earth, and made his faith the foun- 
dation of his moral obligations. He cherished 
the homely but invaluable maxim that 'honesty 
is the best policy,' and held that the temporal as 
well as eternal happiness of mankind could never 
be separated from the performance of their du- 
ties to Heaven and their fellow creatures. He 
believed it to be an inflexible law that, sooner or 
later, a departure from the strict obligations of 
truth and justice would bring with it the loss of 
confidence of mankind, and thus deprive us of 
our best support for prosperity in this world, as 
264i 



THE VERDICT 

well as our best hope of happiness in that to 
come. In short, he believed and practiced on 
the high principle, that the invariable conse- 
quence of the performance of a duty was an in- 
crease of happiness. What others call good for- 
tune, he ascribed to a great and universal law, 
establishing an indissoluble connection between 
actions and their consequences, and making 
every man responsible to himself for his good or 
ill success in this world. Under that superin- 
tending Providence which shapes the ends of 
men, his sentiments and actions show that he 
believed, that, as a general rule, every rational 
being was the architect of his own happiness. "^^^ 

(3) Sir George Otto Trevelyan 
The following, by this noted English writer, is 
very interesting: 

"A better churchman — or, at all events, a 
better man who ranked himself as a churchman 
— than George Washington it would have been 
hard indeed to discover. When at home on the 
bank of the Potomac, he had always gone of a 
Sunday morning to what would have been called 
a distant church by any one except a Virginia 
equestrian; and he spent Sunday afternoons, 
alone and unapproachable, in his library. In 
war he found time for daily prayer and medita- 
tion (as, by no wish of his, the absence of privacy, 
265 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

which is a feature in camp Hfe, revealed to those 
who were immediately about him) ; he attended 
public worhsip himself; and by every available 
means he encouraged the practice of religion in 
his soldiers, to whom he habitually stood in a 
Icind of fatherly relation. There are many pages 
in his Orderly Books which indicate a determina- 
tion that the multitude of young fellows who 
were intrusted to his charge should have all pos- 
sible facilities for being as well-behaved as in 
their native villages. 

"The troops were excused fatigue duty in 
order that they might not miss church. If pub- 
lic worship was interrupted on a Sunday by the 
call to arms, a service was held on a convenient 
day in the ensuing week. The chaplains were 
exhorted to urge the soldiers that they ought to 
live and act like Christian men in times of dis- 
tress and danger; and after every great victory, 
and more particularly at the final proclamation 
of Peace, the Commander-in-chief earnestly 
recommended that the army should universally 
attend the rendering of thanks to Almighty 
God Vith seriousness of deportment and grati- 
tude of heart.' "^^o 

"Washington loved his own church the best, 
and had no mind to leave it; but he was not hos- 
tile to any faith which was sincerely held, and 
which exerted a restraining and correcting in- 
266 



THE VERDICT 

fluence upon human conduct. 'I am disposed,' 
he once told Lafayette, *to indulge the profes- 
sors of Christianity with that road to Heaven 
which to them shall seem the most direct, plain- 
est, easiest, and least liable to exception.' His 
feeling on this matter was accurately expressed 
in the instructions which he wrote out for Bene- 
dict Arnold, when that officer led an armed force 
of fierce and stern New England Protestants 
against the Roman Catholic settlements in 
Canada. The whole paper was a lesson in the 
statesmanship which is founded on respect and 
consideration for others, and still remains well 
worth reading. In after years, as President of 
the United States, Washington enjoyed fre- 
quent opportunities for impressing his own senti- 
ments and policy, in all that related to religion, 
upon the attention of his compatriots. The 
churches of America were never tired of framing 
and presenting addresses which assured him of 
their confidence, veneration, and sympathy; and 
he as invariably replied by congratulating them 
that in their country worship was free, and that 
men of every creed were eligible to every post of 
honor and authority. "^^^ 

(4) Henry Cabot Lodge 
"He had the same confidence in the judgment 
of posterity that he had in the future beyond the 
267 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

grave. He regarded death with entire calm- 
ness, and even indifference, not only when it 
came to him, but when in previous years it had 
threatened him. He loved life and tasted of it 
deeply, but the courage which never forsook 
him made him ready to face the inevitable at 
any moment with an unruffled spirit. In this 
he was helped by his religious faith, which was 
as simple as it was profound. He had been 
brought up in the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
and to that church he always adhered, for its 
splendid hturgy and stately forms appealed to 
him and satisfied him. He loved it too as the 
church of his home and his childhood. Yet he 
was as far as possible from being sectarian, and 
there is not a word of his which shows anything 
but the most entire liberality and toleration. 
He made no parade of his religion, for in this, as 
in other things, he was perfectly simple and sin- 
cere. He was tortured by no doubts or ques- 
tionings, but believed always in an overruling 
Providence and in a merciful God, to whom he 
knelt and prayed in the day of darkness or in 
the hour of triumph with a supreme and child- 
like confidence. "^^^ 

What Made Him Great 

"When the children of the years to come, hear- 
ing his great name re-echoed from every lip, shall 
268 



THE VERDICT 

say to their fathers, 'What was it that raised 
Washington to such height of glory?' let them be 
told that it was HIS GREAT TALENTS, CON- 
STANTLY GUIDED AND GUARDED BY 
RELIGION."333 



"The purest and noblest character of modern 
time — possibly of all time." — Duke of Wel- 
lington, 



%m 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION 

Following are the titles of the seventy-five vol- 
umes from which the material in this book has been 
drawn. The first word is the surname of the author, 
or a part of the title of the book, magazine, etc. It 
is the *'key-word'* used in "Where Found" on p. 276. 
The date given is the date of publication, although 
it is not in every case the date of the first edition. 

Appleton: Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Bi- 
ography, Vol. VI, 1889. 

Baker: Character Portraits of Washington, by Wil- 
liam S. Baker, 1887. 
Early Sketches of George Washington, by 

WilUam S. Baker, 1894. 
Itinerary of General Washington, 1775-1783, 

by WiUiam S. Baker, 1892. 
Washington after the Revolution, 1784-1799, 
by William S. Baker, 1897. 
Baldwin: An American Book of Golden Deeds, by 

James Baldwin, 1907. 
Bancroft: Life of George Washington, by Aaron 

Bancroft, 1807. 
Bancroft: History of the United States, by George 

Bancroft, Vol VII, 1888. 
Barnes: Christian Keepsake, by Rev. Albert Barnes, 
D.D., 1840. 

270 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION 

Bubk: Washington's Prayers, by W. Herbert Burk, 
1907. Dr. Burk very graciously gave per- 
mission to reprint these "Prayers" in 
this book. 

Butler: Washington at Valley Forge, by J. M. 
Butler, 1858. 

Chronicle: London Chronicle, September 21-23, 

1779. 
Clark: Colonial Churches, by W. M. Clark, 1907. 
Conway: George Washington's Rules of Civility, by 

Moncure D. Conway, 1890. 
CusTis: Recollections and Private Memoirs of Wash- 
ington, by George Washington Parke Cus- 
tis, Edited by Benson J. Lossing, 1860. 

Much of the material in this book appeared in dif- 
ferent publications as early as 1827. 

George Washington Parke Custis was the grandson 
of Mrs. Washington. He was born in 1781. Six 
months later his father died. His father was the 
son of Mrs. Washington by a former marriage. 
Upon the death of his father he was adopted by 
General Washington, and lived with him at Mount 
Vernon as his own son. Mr. Custis died in 1857 
in the seventy-seventh year of his age. He was, 
therefore, in his nineteenth year when Washington 
died. 

Dl^jiy: The Diary of George Washington, from 1789 
to 1791, Edited by Benson J. Lossing, 1860. 
Dudley: The Cambridge of 1776, with the Diary of 
Dorothy Dudley, 1876. 
271 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Edmonds: Life and Times of General Washington, 
by Cyrus R. Edmonds (England), 2 
Vols., 1835. 
Eulogies and Orations: Eulogies and Orations on 

the Life and Death of 
General George Wash- 
ington, 1800. 

Ford: The True George Washington, by Paul Lei- 
cester Ford, 1903. 

Green: The Life of Ashabel Green, by Himself, 
1849. 

Hale: Contemplations: Moral and Divine, by Sir 
Matthew Hale, Knight; late Chief Justice 
of the King's Bench. Printed in London, 
1695. 
EUrland : The Story of Mary Washington, by Mar- 
ion Harland, 1892. 
Harper: Harper's Magazine, 1859. 
Hosack: Memoir of DeWitt Clinton, by David 

Hosack,M.D.,1829. 
Hough : Memorials of the Death of Washington, by 
Franklin B. Hough, 1865. 

Irving : Life of George Washington, by Washington 
Irving, 5 Vols., 1857. 

Johnston: George Washington, Day by Day, by 
Elizabeth Bryant Johnston, 1894. 

Kirkland: Memoirs of Washington, by Mrs. C. M. 
Kirkland, 1857. 
272 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION 

Littell: George Washington: Christian, by Rev. 

John Stockton Littell, D.D., 1913. 
Lodge : George Washington, by Henry Cabot Lodge, 

2 Vols., 1898. 
Long Island: Memoirs of the Long Island Histori- 
cal Society, Vol. IV, 1889. 
LossiNG : Mary and Martha Washington, by Benson 
J. Lossing, 1886. 
The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolu- 
tion, by Benson J. Lossing, 2 Vols., 1860. 



Marshall: The Life of George Washington, by John 
Marshall, Abridged Edition, 2 Vols., 
1832. (First edition in 1804-7,5 
Vols.) 
He was chosen by the Washington Family to write 
the biography of George Washington. 
Meade: Old Churches, Ministers and Families of 
Virginia, by Bishop Meade, 2 Vols., 1872. 
The author was Bishop of Virginia for 
33 years (1829-1862). 
M'GuiRE : The Religious Opinions and Character of 
Washington, by Rev. E. C. M'Guire, 
1836. 
Mr. M*Guire married the daughter of Mr. Robert 
Lewis, the nephew and private secretary of Washing- 
ton, and thus he had exceptional sources of informa- 
tion. 

Moore: Libels on George Washington, by George 
H. Moore, 1889. 
273 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Norton: Life of General Washington, by John N. 
Norton, 1870. 

PAULDESfG : A Hf e of Washington, by James K. Paul- 
ding, 2 Vols., 1836. 
Post: Pennsylvania Evening Post, Philadelphia, 

April 9, 1776. 
Potter: Washington in His Library and Life, by 

President Eliphalet Nott Potter, 1895. 
Presbyterian: The Presbyterian Magazine, Edited 
by C. Van Rensselaer, Philadel- 
phia, Pa., February, 1851. 
Prtor: The Mother of George Washington and Her 
Times, by Mrs. Roger A. Pryor, 1903. 

Ramsay: Life of George Washington, by David 

Ramsay, M.D., 1807. 
Rush: Washington in Domestic Life, by Richard 
Rush, 1857. 

Sherman: Historic Morristown, New Jersey, by An- 
drew M. Sherman, 1905. 

Smith : Orderly Book of the Siege of Yorktown, Ed- 
ited by Horace W. Smith, 1865. 

Sparks: The writings of George Washington, by 
Jared Sparks, 12 Vols., 1834-7. 

Thacher: Military Journal during the American 
Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783, 
by James Thacher, M.D., 1823. 
Toner: Washington's Barbadoes Journal, 1751-2, 

Edited by J. M. Toner, M.D., 1892. 
Trevelyan : The American Revolution, by the Right 
Hon. Sir George Trevelyan, Bart., 1908. 
274 



SOURCES OF INFORMATION 

Tribune: New York Tribune, May 26, 1902. 

Vernon: General Washington, the American Soldier 
and Christian, by Merle Vernon. 

Walter: Memorials of Washington and Mary, His 
Mother, and Martha, His Wife, by 
James Walter, 1887. 
Weems: The Life of General Washington, by the 
Rev. Mason L. Weems, 1808. 
Two editions were published before Washington's 
death. These were brief biographical sketches only. 
The third edition, in 1800, was dedicated to Mrs. 
Washington. The fourth edition was in 1804. The 
cherry tree, cabbage seed, and other stories, which 
made the book famous, first appeared in the fifth 
edition, in 1806. 

Whiting: Revolutionary Orders of General Wash- 
ington, selected from MSS. of John 
Whiting, Edited by Henry Whiting, 
1844. 
Colonel John Whitmg fought through all the Revo- 
lutionary War. 

Wylie: Washington, A Christian, by the Rev. Theo- 
dore Wm. John Wylie, 1862. 



275 



WHERE FOUND 

The following is a complete list of references to 
books, magazines, and papers, with volume and page, 
from which the material used in this book has been 
taken, together with explanatory notes. 

The numbers correspond to the index numbers 
throughout the book. 

A "key-word" is used, by means of which the full 
title of the book or magazine from which the material 
is taken, may readily be found by reference to the 
same word under "Sources of Information" on page 
270. 

Illustration: On page 69 is the index number "77" 
Turning to "Where Found" we find opposite 77, 
"Norton, p. 145." Under "Sources of Information," 
opposite the word "Norton," is "Life of General 
Washington, by John N. Norton, 1870." This is 
the book, published in 1870, from which the extract 
is taken, and it is found on page 145. 

1 Littell, p. 5. 

2 M'Guire, p. 31. 

3 Walter, p. 123. 
^ M'Guire, p. 40. 
' Hale. 

^ Norton, p. 34. 
^ Lossing, p. 27. 
* Irving, Vol. I, p. 49. 

276 



WHERE FOUND 

» Conway, p. 49; 1° pp. 178, 180. 

11 Burk, p. 12. 

12 Littell, p. 7. 
i3M'Guire,p.47. 
1* Toner, p. 49. 

1^ Burk, p. 13. Experts in Washington City, Phila- 
delphia and New York are satisfied that it is 
Washington's handwriting without a doubt. 

16 Burk, pp. 87-95. 

17 Harland, p. 87. 

18 Norton, p. 34. ^" 

19 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 54. 

20 M'Guire, p. 136. 

21 Irving, Vol. I, p. 163. 

22 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 43. 

23 M'Guire, p. 137. 

2^ Harland, p. 91. In writing to his mother, Wash- 
ington always addressed her, "Madam." It is 
a term of dignity and endearment, customary 
at that time. 

25 M'Guire, p. 137. 

26 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 89. 

27 Custis, p. 303. This narrative was told Mr. Custis 

by Dr. Craik. It was first published in 1828. 

28 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 132; 29 p. 141; ^o p. 149. 

31 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 167. Extract from "Orderly 

Book," written two days after he reached Fort 
Cumberland. 

32 M'Guire, p. 70. 

33 Sparks, Vol. II, p. 188; 3* p. 20O; 35 p. 200; 36 p. 201; 

37 p. 203; 38 p. 278. 

277 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

'9 Weems, p. 182. 

*° Lossing: Mary and Martha, p. 99. 

« Kirkland, pp. 198, 199. 

42 Clark, p. 126; « p. 126. 

44 Lossing: Field-Book, Vol. II, p. 215. 

45 Clark, p. 121; 46 p. 126; 4^ p. 113; 48 p. 130; 49 p, 

118. 

so Norton, p. 112. 

"Clark, p. 126. 

^2 Norton, p. 112; ^s p. 112. 

54 Irving, Vol. I, p. 365. 

55M'Guire, p. 141; ^e p. 142. 

" Tribune, p. 7, by the Rev. Randolph H. M'Kim, 
D.D., Rector of the Church of the Epiphany, 
Washington, D. C. 

58M'Guire,p.411. 

59 Presbyterian, p. 70. 

®o Baker: After the Revolution, p. 40 (from Wash- 
ington's Diary). 

61 Norton, p. 117. 

62 Known simply as the Episcopal Church until 1813; 

since then as Christ Church. — Clark, p. 137. 

63 Clark, p. 135; ^4 p. 118; 65 p. 136. 

66 Norton, p. 123; Custis, p. 21. 

67 Ford, p. 29. 

68 M'Guire, p. 142. 

69 Lodge, Vol. I, p. 123. 

70 Clark, p. 136. 

71 Butler, pp. 48, 49. 

72 Irving, Vol. I, p. 461. 

73 M'Guire, p. 143. 

278 



WHERE FOUND 

^4 Appleton, Vol. VI, p. 383. 

^s Weems, p. 182. 

7« Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 2. 

^^ Norton, p. 145. 

78 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 491; ^9 p. 491. 

80 Johnston, p. 107 (from "Orderly Book"). 

81 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 80; ^^ p. 86; ^^ p. 91; ^^ p. 92. 
8^ Johnston, p. 146. 

86 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 171. Mrs. Washington was on 
her way to Cambridge to visit General Washing- 
ton. 

s^M'Guire, p. 190. 

88 Paulding, Vol. II, pp. 226, 227. 

89 Baker: Itinerary, Vol. I, p. 22. 
»o Dudley, p. 48; ^^ p. 49. 

»2 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 240. 

»^ Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 296 (from "Orderly Book"). 

9^ Dudley, p. 59. 

9^ Sparks, Vol. IX, p. 337. 

^6 Johnston, p. 41. 

97 Thacher, p. 51. 

98 Post, April 9, 1776. 

99 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 341. 

100 Meade, Vol. II, p. 251. 

101 Trevelyan, Vol. Ill, p. 304. 

102 Sparks, Vol. Ill, p. 392; '^^ p. 404; "* p. 449; "^ p. 

456. 
io« Sparks, Vol. IV, p. 26. 

107 Potter, p. 124. 

108 Sherman, p. 238; lo^ p. 239. 
"0 Hosack, p. 183. 

279 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 



111 Harper, Vol. XVIII, p. 

"2 Sherman, p. 237. 

"3, ^S 115 M'Guire, pp. 411-414. 

11® Presbyterian, Vol. I, p. 71. 

11' Presbyterian, Vol. I, p. 569. 

118 Tribune, p. 7. 

119 Presbyterian, p. 570, Rev. O. L. Kirtland's letter. 

120 Probably the Mrs. Ford in whose house Wash- 

ington had his headquarters the second winter 
that the army encamped at Morristown, 1780- 
81. 

121 Presbyterian, p. 569, Rev. O. L. Kirtland's letter. 

122 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 409. 

123 Trevelyan, Vol. Ill, p. 309. 

124 Sparks, Vol. IV, p. 436; i25 p. 482. 

126 M'Guire, p. 114. 

127 Sparks, Vol. V, p. 88; 128 p. 103; 129 p. 105; i^o p. 

120; 131 p. 524. 

132 Weems, p. 104. 

133 Ix>ssing: Field-Book, Vol. II, p. 130. 

134 M'Guire, p. 158. 

135 Wylie, pp. 28, 29. 

136 M'Guire, p. 159. 

137 Barnes, p. 265. 

138 Baldwin, pp. 102-107. 

139 Sparks, Vol. V, 276. 

140 T\Tiiting, p. 58; i^i p. 74; 1^2 p. 77. 
i43Lossing: Field-Book, Vol. II, p. 140. 

144 Sparks, Vol. V, p. 388. 

145 Norton, p. 253. 

146 Moore, p. 6 (p. 5). 

280 



WHERE FOUND 

1*7 Custis, p. 413. General Scott was governor of 
Kentucky after the war. 

148 Sparks, Vol. V, p. 432. 

149 Sparks, Vol. VI, p. 36. 

150 Baker: Early Sketches, p. 77. 

151 Chronicle, Vol. XLVI, p. 228. 

152 M'Guire, pp. 162-167. 

In the summer of 1779 Washington had his 
Head-Quarters on the Hudson River. That he 
was in the habit of traveling alone sometimes 
during the war is well known. The circum- 
stances mentioned above are said to have 
occurred in the month of June, — the year it 
would seem not remembered. It appears from 
one of his letters that he was absent from 
camp for a day or two, about that time in 
1779. In a letter dated New Windsor, July 
9th, he says, *T did not receive intelligence 
of this till the afternoon of the 7th inst., having 
been absent from head-quarters from the morn- 
ing of the preceding day, on a visit to our out- 
posts below, and those lately estabUshed by the 
enemy.'*— M'Guire, p. 165. 

153 M'Guire, pp. 160, 161. 

154 Kirkland, p. 478. 

155 Meade, Vol. II, p. 492. 

156 Kirkland, p. 479. 

157 Custis, p. 493. 

158 M'Guire, p. 146. 

159 Bancroft (Aaron), 1808, p. 538. 

160 Thacher, p. 246. 

281 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

61 Sparks, Vol. VII, p. 449; ^^^ p. 462. 

63 Baker: Itinerary, p. 220 (from Diary of (Gov.) 

Jonathan Trumbull). 
«^ Smith, p. 47. 
6^ Custis, p. 38. 
«6 Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 207. 

67 Whiting, pp. 205, 206. 

68 Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 234. 

69 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 288 (from "Or- 

derly Book"). 
7° Johnston, p. 44. 

71 Custis, p. 290. 

72 Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 567; "3 pp. 440, 441, 452. 

74 Sparks, Vol. VIII, p. 475. 

75 M'Guire, p. 125. 

76 Johnston, p. 160. 

77 Sparks, Vol. VIII, pp. 492, 496. I i 

78 Johnston, p. 182. 

79 Sparks, Vol. VIII, pp. 504, 505. 

80 Clark, p. 136. 

81 M'Guire, p. 147. 

82 Custis, p. 173. 

83 Vernon, p. 48. 

84 Norton, p. 322. 

85 Custis, p. 173. 

86 Clark, p. 130. Article by Rev. George S. Somer- 

ville. Rector of Falls Church, Virginia. 

87 Sparks, Vol. IX, p. 22. 

88 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 39, ^89 p. 62; ^^o 

p. 63; 191 p. 70. 
192 Johnston, p. 70. 



WHERE FOUND 

193 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 77 (from Wash- 

ington's Diary). 

194 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 80. 
19^ Sparks, Vol. IX, p. 397; ^'\ p. 262. 

"^ Baker : After the Revolution, p. 94 (from Wash- 
ington's Diary). 

198 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 100 (from Wash- 

ington's Diary). 

199 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 105. 

200 Sparks, Vol. IX, p. 406; ^oi p. 421; 202 p. 431. 

203 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 110 (from Wash- 
ington's Diary). 
204Lossing: Field-Book, Vol. II, p. 220. 
20f Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 145. 

206 Norton, pp. 333, 334. 

207 Sparks, Vol. XII, pp. 2, 4, 5. 

208 Vernon, p. 44. 

209 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 153; 210 p. 154. 

211 Baker: Character Portraits, p. 77 (from Biograph- 

ical Sketch of General George Washington, 
by Jedediah Morse, D.D., December 31, 1799). 

212 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 152; 213 p. 160; 21* pp. 162, 163. 
215 Irvmg, Vol. V, p. 21. 

2i« M'Guire, p. 206. 

217 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 119. 

218 Lossing: Diary, pp. 12, 18, 19, 24. 

219 Diary, p. 34. 

220 Diary, p. 42. 

221 Diary, p. 50. 

222 M'Guire, p. 175. 

223 Diary, pp. 53, 55, 58. 

283 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

224 Diary, pp. 60, 61, 62. 

226 Long Island, Vol. IV, p. 311. 

226 Diary, pp. 64, 65, 68, 71, 74, 86, 89, 91, 96, 97, 98, 

104, 114. 

227 Johnston, p. 45. 

228 Diary, pp. 116, 118, 121, 128. 

229 Diary, pp. 132, 136, 137, 144, 152. 
230M'Guire, p. 174. 

231 Johnston, p. 171. The Reverend Thomas Davis 

assisted at Washington's funeral. 

232 M'Guire, p. 414. 

233 Meade, Vol. II, p. 490; 234 p. 490. 
235 M'Guire, p. 153; 236 p. 153. 

237 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 408. 

238 Kirkland, p. 486. 

239 Meade, Vol. II, p. 492; 240 p. ^55. 241 p 494^ 

242 M'Guire, p. 168. 

243 Green, p. 267. The Rev. Dr. Green was pastor 

of the Second Presbyterian Church of Philadel- 
phia at that time. He became President of 
Princeton University in 1812, and Moderator 
of the General Assembly in 1824. 

244 Custis, p. 435. 

246 Meade, Vol. II, p. 248. 

246 Kirkland, p. 208. 

247 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 226. 

248 Sparks, Vol. X, p. 179. 

249 Long Island, Vol. IV, p. 311. 
260 Rush, p. Q5. 

2" Meade, Vol. II, p. 494; 2^2 p. 494; 253 p^ 492. 
2s* Norton, p. 394. 

284 



\ 



WHERE FOUND 

255 Sparks, Vol. X, p. 222; ^^e p. 286; ^57 p. 309. 
258 Sparks, Vol. X, p. 389; 259 p. 393. 

260 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 272. 

261 Long Island, Vol. IV, p. 76. 

262 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 286. 

263 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 54; 26* pp. 132, 134. 

265 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 305. 

266 Sparks, Vol. XII, pp. 5Q. 60, 64; 267 pp. 227, 228. 

268 Meade, Vol. II, p. 243. 

269 Custis, p. 75. 

270 Sparks, Vol. XII, pp. 65, 74. 

271 Custis, p. 78. 

272 Green, p. 157; ^73 p. 614; "« p. 615. 

275 Baker: After the Revolution, p. 368. 

276 Eulogies and Orations, p. 258. 

277 Johnston, p. 121. 
278Pryor, p.351. 

279 M'Guire, p. 154; 28o p. 154. 

281 Meade, Vol. II, p. 246. 

282 Walter, p. 233. 

283 Lossing: Mary and Martha, p. 324. 
«84 Sparks, Vol. I, p. 558. 

285 Weems, p. 168. 

286 M'Guire, p. 344. 

287 Weems, p. 169. 

288 Hough, Vol. I, p. 17. 

289 Weems, p. 170. Washmgton died between ten 

and eleven o'clock Saturday night, December 
14, 1799, in the 68th year of his age. 

290 Sparks, Vol. I, p. 529. 

291 Custis, p. 477. 

285 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

2»2Lossing: Mary and Martha, p. 327. 
"3 Custis, p. 509; 294 p. 513. Mrs. Washington died 
Saturday evening, May 22, 1802. 

295 Ramsay, p. 361. 

296 Ramsay, p. 358; 297 p. 352; 298 p^ 353 

299 Sparks, Vol. XII, pp. 405-407; ^oo p. 497; soi p^ 

407-8. 
«02 Littell, p. 14. 
»03 Meade, Vol. II, p. 243. 

30^ Eulogies and Orations, p. 17; ^os p. 37. 306 p^ ^92; 
»07 p. 279; 308 p. 91; 309 p, 233. 310 p, 199. 
*^^ Baker: Character Portraits, p. 114 — Timothy 

D wight, D.D., President of Yale College, in 

Discourse on the Character of Washington, 

February 22, 1800. 

312 M*Guire, p. 393. 

313 Baker: Early Sketches, p. 27. 

314 Baker: Early Sketches, p. 74. 

315 Tribune, p. 7, quoted by Reverend Doctor Ran- 

dolph H. McKim;3i6p. 7. 

317 Tribune, p. 7, Letter by R. C. L. Vigelius. 

318 Baker: Character Portraits, p. 284 — Lecture by 

Theodore Parker, 1858. 

319 Kirkland, p. 480. 

320 Weems, p. 62. 

321 Bancroft (Aaron), p. 538. 

322 Edmonds, Vol. II, p. 304. 

323 Marshall, Vol. II, p. 445. 

324 Bancroft (George), Vol. VII, p. 398. 

325 Sparks, Vol. I, p. 535. 

326 Sparks, Vol. XII, p. 411. 

286 



WHERE FOUND 

327 Ramsay, p. 331. 

328 Paulding, Vol. II, p. 208; 329 p. 210. 
330 Trevelyan, Vol. Ill, p. 308; 33i p, 310. 

332 Lodge, Vol. II, p. 387. 

333 Weems, p. 174. 



287 



NAMES OF THE DEITY 

The terms one uses in referring to the Deity are an 
indication of his rehgious thinking, and of his con- 
ception of God and his attributes. In the quota- 
tions found in this book, Washington uses no less 
than fifty -four designations. In the following list 
are twenty-six more, which are found in his writings, 
but not quoted in this volume. 

The page on which the name first occurs is 
given. 

Almighty. 

Almighty Being, 161. 
Almighty Father, 126. 
Almighty God, 81. 
Almighty Ruler of the Universe, 113. 
All-Kind Providence. 
All-Powerful Guide, 150. 
All-Powerful Providence, 47. 
All-Wise Dispenser of Events, 70. 
All- Wise Disposer of Events, 70. 
All- Wise and Powerful Being, 111. 
Author of All Good, 114. 
Author of Blessings, 216. 

Being, 72. 

Beloved Son, 127. 

Beneficent Author of All Good, 173. 

288 



NAMES OF THE DEITY 

Beneficent Being. 

Benign Parent of the Human Race, 162. 

Bountiful Providence, 119. 

Creator, 172. 

Deity, 165. 

Dispenser of Human Events, 150. 

Divine Author of Life and FeHcity, 225. 

Divine Author of Our Blessed Religion, 141. 

Divine Author of the Universe. 

Divine Beneficence, 215. 

Divine Blessing. 

Divine Goodness, 113. 

Divine Government, 133. 

Divine Providence, 164. 

Giver of Life, 227. 
Giver of Victory, 81. 
God, 39. 

God of Armies, 144. 
Good Providence, 172. 
Gracious and Beneficent Being. 
Gracious God. 
Gracious Providence. 
Grand Architect of the Universe. 
Great Arbiter of the Universe. 
Great Author of All the Care and Good, 114. 
Great Director of Events. 
Great Disposer of Events. 
Great Father of the Universe. 
Great and Glorious Being, 173. 
289 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 

Great and Good Being, 111 

Great Governor of the Universe, 164. 

Great Power. 

Great Ruler of Events. 

Great Ruler of Nations, 216. 

Great Searcher of Human Hearts. 

Heaven, 69. 

Heavenly Preserver, 125. 

Jehovah. 

Kind Providence, 226. 

Lord, 81. 

Lord and Giver of All Victory, 77. 

Lord of Hosts, 77. 

Lord and Ruler of Nations, 174. 

Maker. 

Most Gracious Being, 158. 

Omnipotent Being, 155. 
Overruling Providence. 

Parent of the Universe. 

Power. 

Providence, 39. 

Revelation, Pure and Benign Light of, 140. 
Ruler of the Universe, 220. 

Source of Blessings. 

290 



NAMES OF THE DEITY 

Sovereign Arbiter of the United States, 221, 

Superintending Providence. 

Supreme Architect. 

Supreme Author of All Good, 112. 

Supreme Being, 82. 

Supreme Dispenser of Every Good. 

Supreme Ruler of Nations, 214. 

Supreme Ruler of the Universe, 171. 

Wise Disposer of Events. 
Wonder- Working Deity. 



291 



INDEX 



Abercrombie, the Rev. Dr., 
196 

Abraham and Washington, 
258 

Adams, John, letter of, 65; 
at inauguration, 159; let- 
ter to, 226 

Address, farewell to army, 
143 

Address, first inaugural, 161 

Address of Philadelphia cler- 
gy, 221, 222 

Address to Baptist churches, 
164 

Address to city officials of 
Philadelphia, 158 

Address to Congress, Prince- 
ton, New Jersey, 141 

Address to Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, 163 

Address to Philadelphia cler- 
gy. 224 

Address to Presbyterian 
church, 167 

Address to Protestant Epis- 
copal church, 169 

Address to the United Breth- 
ren, 168 

Adopted son, letter to, 219; 
another letter, 221 

Alexandria, Virginia, Christ 
Church, 54, 59, 63, 149, 
154, 185, 193, 226, 227, 243 

All-wise Disposer of events, 
70 

Ancestry, Christian, 16 

Apple orchard, communion 
service in, 89 

Appleton, the Rev. Dr. Na- 
thaniel, 74 

Arnold, Benedict, instruc- 
tions to, 70 



Ball, grandfather, 17 

Bancroft, Aaron, judgment 
of, 260 

Bancroft, George, judgment 
of, 260 

Baptism, 18 

Baptist churches, address to, 
164 

Bard, Dr. Samuel, physician, 
171 

Beaver, Devault, testimony 
of, 104 

Berrian, the Rev. Dr., letter 
of, 188 

Bible, birth record, 18; in- 
struction in, 19; reads 
Sunday afternoon, 149; at 
inauguration, 159; reads 
Sunday evenings, 185, 191; 
open on chair, 198; private 
devotions, 229; gift in will, 
237 

Bibles, buys for stepchildren, 
48 

Blair, the Rev. Mr., chap- 
lain, preaches, 132 

Blessing at table, 198 

Boucher, the Rev. Jonathan, 
testimony of, 256 

Brackett, Charlotte Morrell, 
testimony of, 95 

Braddock, General, offers 
. command, 39; funeral, 40 

Brother, letter to, 40; death 
of, 227 

Buckminster, the Rev. Jo- 
seph, heard preach, 176; 
letter to, 178 

Burgoyne's defeat, 100 

Burk, the Rev. W. Herbert, 
gives permission, 24 



292 



INDEX 



Canada, message to, 72 

Chaplain, asks for, 45 

Chaplains, commends, 138 

Chapman, the Rev. George 
Thomas, statement by, 187 

Character sketch, 120 

"Charity, example of Chris- 
tian," 108 

Charity, to the poor, 72; gift 
to, 211; bequest, 240 

Chatterton Hill, battle of, 84 

Children, adopts, 134 

Christ Church, Alexandria, 
Virginia; see "Alexandria, 
Virginia" 

Christ Church, Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, 74 

Christ Church, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, attends, 

66, 152; pew in, 191, 192, 
193 

Christian above patriot, 112 

Christian, letter of Nelly 
Custis, 243 

Christian soldier, 83 

Christmas, poem, 21; at 
church, 146 

Church attendance, 39, 55, 
57. 62, 63, 66, 74, 120, 134, 
146, 149, 150, 151, 152, 
154, 155, 160, 185, 190, 
191, 201, 226, 243 

Church attendance at home, 
153 

Church attendance in Phila- 
delphia, 190, 191 

Church, attends at inaugura- 
tion, 160 

Church building committee, 
member of. Falls Church, 
53; chairman, Payne's 
Church, 54; chairman, Po- 
hick Church, 55 

Church, Christmas at, 146 

Church, goes to, 152 

Church, going in family 
coach, 60 



Church, his custom to at- 
tend, 39, 184, 194, 243 

Church, not kept from by 
company, 56 

Church, member of, 148 

Church membership of par- 
ents, 18 

Church of England, parents 
members of, 18; subscribes 
to doctrine and discipline, 
50 

Church, Falls, 53 

Church, panic in, 154 

Church, Payne's, 53 

Church, Pohick, 54 

Church, Pope's Creek, 19 

Church, Saint Peter's, Kent 
County, Virginia, 48 

Church, Saint Peter's, Phila- 
delphia, 66, 192 

Church subscriptions, 185 

Church, Trumbull attends 
with Washington, 134 

Church, Washington at, in 
Philadelphia, 193; in Alex- 
andria, 228 

Churchman, claimed to be, 
249 

Clergy, address of, 221, 222 

Clergy, regard for, 139 

Communicant, 55, 57, 187 

Communion, partook regu- 
larly, 58; attends at Mor- 
ristown. New Jersey, 85; 
withdraws from, 96; par- 
takes of, 194; always be- 
fore Revolution, 244 

Confirmed, not, 58 

Congregational Church, at- 
tends, 74, 176 

Congress, speech to, 217; last 
speech to, 220 

Conscience, rights of, 70 

Constitutional convention, 
president of, 152 

Contemplations: Moral and 
Divine, 19 



^93 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 



Cornwallis' surrender, 134 

Coulton, Asa A., testimony 
of, 90 

Court-martial at battle of 
Monmouth, 117 

Coxe, the Rev. Samuel H., 
testimony of, 86 

Craik, Dr., family physician, 
41, 152, 232 

Credit, takes none to himself, 

I 158 

Custis, Eleanor Parke(Nelly), 
adopts, 135; letter by, 242 

Custis, George Washington 
Parke, adopts, 135; letters 
to, 220, 221 

Custis, John Parke, stepson, 
Bible bought for, 48; cate- 
chism taught, 55; death, 
134, 244 

Custis, Martha Parke, step- 
daughter, Bible bought for, 
48; catechism taught, 55; 
death, 60, 244 

Custis, Mrs. Martha, letter 
to, 47; marriage, 48 

Daily sacrifice, 23 

Davidson, the Rev. Dr., 214 

Davis, the Rev. Thomas, 185 

Death of a child, letter of 
sympathy, 201 

Decision to fight, 63 

Diary, extracts from, 51, 52, 
57, 62, 66, 150, 151, 152, 
154, 155, 156, 175, 176, 
178, 180, 181, 182, 183, 
201, 214, 226 

Dinwiddle, Governor, com- 
missions Washington, 36; 
letter to, 44; asks for chap- 
lain, 45 

Die, not afraid to, 232 

Die easier, 233 

Dies hard, 232 

Dispenser of human events, 
150 



Divine service, orders army 
to attend, 69, 70; not to be 
omitted, 99; every Sunday, 
112; regular attendant, 
131; open-air service, 132; 
every Sunday, 138 

Divine will, submission to, 
234 

Doctrine, approbation of, 179 

Doremus, Cornelius, another 
witness, 131 

Dream, impressed by, 231 

Drinking, discountenanced, 
43; punished, 44; forbid- 
den, 69; discouraged, 136 

Duche, the Rev. John, 63, 64 

Dudley, Dorothy, diary, 74 

Dunham, Captain Josiah, 
testimony of, 253 

Dutch Reformed Church, at- 
tends, 201 

Dwight, President Timothy, 
testimony of, 255 

Dying, wished to be alone, 
233 

Dying words, 233, 234 

Edmonds, Cyrus R., judg- 
ment of, 260 
Education, donation for, 212; 

bequest for, 240 
Eliot, Rev. Dr. Andrew, 78 
Emerson, Rev. William, 69 
Episcopal Church, predom- 
inated, 49; at Alexandria, 
Va., 54 
Evans, the Rev. Israel, chap- 
lain, acknowledges receipt 
of sermon, 110; devotion in 
death, 259 

Fairfax, Mr., quoted, 37 
Falls Church, Virginia, 53; 

does not forget, 149 
Farewell address, 143 
Fast day, ordered, 77, 111 
Fast, observance of, 81 



294 



INDEX 



Fasting, 61 

Father, George's, 18 

Fiancee, letter to, 47 

Field, the Rev. D. D., testi- 
mony of, 130 

First Continental Congress, 
prayer, 63 

Fort Necessity, prayer at, 37 

Fredericksburg, Virginia, 

mother's home, 21, 154, 
156 

Funeral, conducts Brad- 
dock's, 40 

Gambling, discouraged, 42; 
punished, 72; condemned, 
76; not allowed, 80; forbid- 
den, 98 
God, forsakes not house of, 
226 

God, trust in, 39; on our 
side," 68; alone able to 
protect, 210; trusts for 
guidance, 210; knows best, 
214 

Godfather, 21 

Grace, at table, 58; at state 
dinner, 162; always, 198; 
at Mount Vernon, 230 

Great Meadows, 36, 39 

Great Spirit protects him 41 

Green, the Rev. Dr. Ashabel, 
chaplain, 199; writes ad- 
dress, 221, 247 

Griffith, the Rev. David, 146 

Hamilton, Alexander, testi- 
mony of, 116; Washing- 
ton's habit of prayer, 131 

Harrison, Judge, testimony 
oU 132 . ^^^ 

High priest of the nation, 219 

Honest man, 155 

Hospitality to the poor, 70 

Hunter, the Rev. Mr., ser- 
mon^ 113 



Inauguration, 159 

Indian chief, testimony of, 40 

Indians, tradition of New 

York, 258 
Infidel, worse than, 119 

Jarrett, the Rev. Devereux, 

testimony of, 256 
Johnes, John B., M.D., 94 
Johnes, the Rev. Timothy, 86 
Johnes, William, 90 
Just, believes cause, 81 

Kirkland, the Rev. John 
Thornton, testimony of, 

252 ^ -r X 

Kirtland, the Rev. O. L., tes- 
timony of, 93 

Knox, General, a witness, 
106, 202 

Lafayette, letter to, 153, 201 
Lear, Tobias, private secre- 
tary, 203, 233, 235 
Lee, General, at battle of 

Monmouth, 115 
Lee, Major-General Henry, 

testimony of, 250 
Leonard, the Rev. Abiel, 74. 

78 
Letter to his fiancee, 47 
Levingston, the Rev. Brock- 
hoist, 183 
Lewis, Laurence, nephew, 208 
Lewis, Robert, nephew and 
private secretary, 89, 208; 
letter to, 226; testimony of, 
246 
Lincoln, Abraham, 219 
Livingston, Chancellor, 160 
Lodge, Henry Cabot, quoted, 

17; opinion of, 267 
Lord's Supper, the scene, 92 
Lossing, Benson J., account 

of, 103 .... J 

Lynch, John, church attend- 
ance, 149 



^95 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 



Madison, President, testi- 
mony of, 257 
Marriage, 48 

McGuire, the Rev. E. C, 
statement of, 57; commun- 
ion, 89; prayer at former's 
home, 122; testimony of, 
190, 191, 207, 228 
Marshall, General, testimony 

of, 116 
Marshall, John, judgment of, 

260 
Mason, the Rev. John M., 

testimony of, 254 
Massey, the Rev. Lee, testi- 
mony of, 56 
Meade, Bishop, testimony of, 
188; Washington with- 
draws from communion, 
195; comment, 196; com- 
ment on swearing, 207 
Message, valedictory, 139 
Methodist Episcopal Church, 

address to, 163 
Miller, Peter, visits Wash- 
ington, 109 
Ministers, entertains, 150 
Ministry, supporting the, 147 
Miracles, not waiting for, 138 
Monmouth, battle of, 115 
Morals, irreproachable, 120 
Morristown, N. J., commun- 
ion service, 85 
Mossora, the Rev. David, 48 
Mother, character, 17; reads 
to children, 19; religious 
teaching, 21; advises secret 
prayer, 36; opposes going 
to war, 39; last visit to, 
156; death, 172 
Mount Vernon, goes to, 21; 
residence, 48; visited twice 
during war, 146 
Muir, the Rev. James, 212 



New England, visits, 175 
New York, residence, 159 



Ogden, the Rev., 176 

Omnipotent Being never de- 
serted America, 155 

Open-air service, 132 

Order to army, first general, 
69 

Orphan school, donation to, 
212 

Parker, Dr. Samuel, 176 
Paulding, James K., state- 
ment of, 263 
Payne's church, 53 
Pew, Alexandria, Virginia, 
60, 147; Saint Paul's, New 
York, 189; Christ Church, 
Philadelphia, 191, 192; Po- 
hick, 243 
Pinckney, General C. C, tes- 
timony of, 116 
Poem on " Christmas Day," 

21 
Pohick Church, vestry book, 
49; place of worship, 54; 
attends again, 151; again, 
154; again, 156 
Pond, the Rev. Enoch, 176 
Poor, hospitality to, 72 
Pope's Creek Church, 19 
Popham, Major, testimony 

of, 188; letter of, 189 
Porterfield, General Robert 
testimony of, 130; saw take 
communion, 194; did not 
swear, 208 
Potts, Isaac, heard prayer, 

102 
Prayerbook, instruction in, 

19 
Prayerbooks, buys, 148 
Prayer, another instance, 
128; heard at, 130; saw him 
on his knees, 130; another 
witness, 131 
Prayer at farmer's house, 122 
Prayer at Valley Forge, 102 
Prayer before battle, 84 



296 



INDEX 



Prayer, daily, 59, 131 

Prayer, Independence born 
of, 107 

Prayer, kneels, 63, 65 

Prayer, private, 36, 197, 229, 
244 

Prayer, secret, advised by 
mother, 36 

Prayer, Mrs. Washington in, 
234 

Prayers at Fort Necessity, 36 

Prayers in army every morn- 
ing, 69 

Prayers, family, 148 

Prayers, stood during, 55 

Prayers, Washington's, 23 

Prays at bedside of step- 
daughter, 60, 244 

Presbyterian Church, at- 
tends, 66; communion, 86; 
attends, 89; sends address, 
166; receives address, 167; 
orphan school, 212; at- 
tends, 214 

Protestant Episcopal Church, 
member of, 148; address 
to, 169 

Providence, protection of, 
44; finger of, 76; special, 
77; interposition of, 80; 
mark of, 98; signal stroke 
of, 100; superintending, 
101; protection of, 113; 
never-failing, 119; only de- 
pendence, 133; hand of rec- 
ognized, 133; belief in over- 
ruling, 135; under control 
of, 142; continued protec- 
tion of, 153 

Provoost, Bishop Samuel, 
160, 182, 186 

Public worship, deportment, 
55, 56, 190, 192, 193; at- 
tends, 66; attitude, 75; 
stands, 96, 243 

Putnam, General, sympathy 
for, 100 



Quaker meeting, attends, 66 
Quarreling and fighting pun- 
ished, 44 

Ramsey, Hon. David, testi- 
mony of, 253; verdict, 262 
Religion indispensable, 217 
Religion, toleration in, 153 
Religious disputes, depre- 
cates, 211 
Religious service in army 

conducted, 47 
Religious teaching, 19 
Resigns his commission, 144 
Richards, the Rev. James, 

testimony of, 91 
Right always, 67 
Rights of conscience, 71 
Right vs. popularity, 155 
Romish Church, attends, 152 
Rules, Washington's, 20 

Sabbath observance, 149, 

177, 184, 191, 258 

St. Clair, General, 203, 206 
Saint Paul's Chapel, New 
York, attends, 160, 175, 

178, 180, 181, 182. 183, 
186, 189 

Saint Peter's Episcopal 
Church, New Kent Coun- 
ty, Virginia, 48 

Saint Peter's Episcopal 
Church, Philadelphia, at- 
tends, 66, 192 

Scott, General Charles, state- 
ment of, 118 

Seabury, the Rev. Dr. Sam- 
uel, bishop, 58 

Sermon, asks for, 78; ac- 
knowledges receipt of, 110, 
178; heard "lame" dis- 
courses, 176; language not 
understood, 201; political 
sermon, 214 

Sewall, Jonathan Mitchell, 
testimony of, 251 



297 



GEORGE WASHINGTON THE CHRISTIAN 



Sickness, 171 

Slavery, wants it abolished, 
151 

Slaves, will not sell, 226; re- 
lease in will, 237; provides 
freedom, 238 

Smith, Jeremiah, testimony 
of, 254 

Snowden, the Rev. James 
Ross, testimony of, 105 

Sparks, Jared, letter to, 242; 
judgment of, 261 

Sunday, how spent, 149 

Sunday in Boston, Mass., 176 

Sunday in Connecticut, 176; 
halted by officer, 176 

Sunday in Portsmouth, N. 
H., 176 

Sunday visiting, no, 184, 191 

Sundays at home, 177 

Sundays away from home, 175 

Supreme Being, relies upon, 
82 

Swear, did Washington, 203; 
statement of private secre- 
tary, 203; Bishop Meade's 
comment, 207; testimony 
of nephews, 207; testimony 
of General Porterfield, 208 

Swearing, discountenanced, 
43; punished, 44; forbid- 
den, 69; condemned, 83; 
rebukes, 209 

Swift, General Joseph G., 
testimony of, 115 

Temperance, personal hab- 
its, 199; views, 200 

Thacher, the Rev. Peter, ser- 
mon, 176 

Thanks God, 141 

Thanksgiving after Corn- 
wallis' surrender, 134 

Thanksgiving day, observes, 
217 

Thanksgiving, first national, 
172; second national, 215 



Thanksgiving for treaty of 
peace, 143; for end of war, 
144 

Thanksgiving and praise or- 
dered, 101 

Thanksgiving sermon, asks 
for, 78 

Thanksgiving service, ac- 
count of, 76 

Thanksgiving service, at- 
tends, 78 

Trevelyan, Sir George Otto, 
opinion of, 265 

Trinity Episcopal Church, 
New York, prayer for king 
to be omitted, 80; attends 
consecration, 182, 183. 186, 
187 

Trumbull, speaker, 185, 191 

Trumbull, Governor Jona- 
than, attends church with, 
134 

Truro parish, 17, 49. 52, 53, 
59, 243 

United Brethren, address to, 

168 
Upham, Professor S. F.. 

quoted, 23 

Valedictory message, 139 
Valley Forge, prayer at, 102 
Vestryman, elected, 49; re- 
signed, 52 
Vestry meetings, 50 
Vice and immorality discour- 
aged, 98 

Warden, a church, 52 

Warner, great-grandfather, 
17 

Washington, Augustine, fa- 
ther, 17; instructs George 
18; death, 18 

Washington, Augustine, half- 
brother, 19 



^98 



i 



INDEX 



Washington, Bushrod, neph- 
ew, testimony of, 258 

Washington, John, great- 
grandfather, 16 

Washington, Lawrence, 
grandfather, 16 

Washington, Lawrence, 
brother, 21; visits West 
Indies, 22; son-in-law of 
Mr. Fairfax, 38 

Washington, Lund, business 
agent, 73 

Washington, Mary Ball, 
mother, 17 

Washington, Martha, wife, 
married, 48; always sym- 
pathized with husband, 67; 
letters to, 68; asks church 
be prepared for services, 
75; attends church at Cam- 
bridge, 75; at son's death; 
135; goes to New York, 



162; attends consecration 
of Trinity Church, 182; in 
prayer, 234; at husband's 
deathbed, 235; daily devo- 
tions, 235; death, 236; very 
pious, 243-245. 
Washington, the Rev. Law- 
rence, great-great-grand- 
father, 16 
Wellington, Duke of, quoted, 

269 
West Indies, trip to, 22 
"Whiskey Rebellion," 214 
White, Bishop William, 
preaches, 152; statement 
of, 191, 193, 196; letter, 246 
Wife, letters to, 68 
Will, Washington's, 237 
Winthrop, Robert C, testi- 
mony of, 257 
Wylie, the Rev. T. W. J., tes- 
timony of, 105 



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